Powered Oral Care Implement

ABSTRACT

An oral care implement including a handle and an oral care refill head. The handle has a gripping portion, an engagement component coupled to a distal end of the gripping portion, and a stem. The engagement component includes a plate portion and a first engagement feature. The stem extends through an opening in the engagement component and protrudes from the plate portion. The oral care refill head includes an oral care treatment portion and a sleeve portion. The sleeve portion has an inner surface that defines a sleeve cavity having a cavity axis and a second engagement feature. When the oral care refill head is detachably coupled to the handle, the first and second engagement features mate with one another to at least one of: (1) position the oral care refill head and the handle in an operational alignment; and (2) lock the oral care refill head to the handle.

BACKGROUND

In the era of smart devices and people's desire to track personalizeddata related to their health and wellness, many new industries havesprung up. Additionally, people have been coming up with ways to trackactivities that were being undertaken but not previously tracked. Theact of toothbrushing and related oral hygiene procedures is one area inwhich such tracking has been found to be desirable. Specifically,individuals want to know how well they are brushing their teeth, howlong they are brushing their teeth, and they want to be able to interactwith a screen that can provide them with information about theirtoothbrushing habits. However, there is still much room for improvementin the manner in which information about a user's oral hygiene habits isprovided to the user and the user's ability to control that flow ofinformation. Furthermore, there is a need to improve the mechanism usedfor connecting a refill head to a handle for toothbrushes with suchtracking capabilities in order to protect any electronic components frombeing damaged by fluids. These and other needs are met by the inventiondescribed herein below.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to an oral care system that monitorsan oral care parameter of a user during an oral care session and allowsa user to control whether feedback related to the oral care parameter isprovided to the user in real time. The present invention is alsodirected to an oral care implement that includes a handle and a refillhead with a unique connection mechanism. The present invention isfurther directed to an oral care system that can generate different userperceptible stimulus depending on the detection of an oral malady inreal-time during an oral care session. The present invention is stillfurther directed to an oral care system that can provide a user with anindication of an amount of time that has elapsed during an oral caresession in an easily identifiable manner.

In one aspect, the invention may be an oral care system comprising: anoral care implement comprising an oral care tool for treating an oralcavity of a user; a control circuit comprising, in operable cooperation:a power source integrated into the oral care implement; a first sensorunit integrated into the oral care implement and configured to monitoran oral care parameter during performance of an oral care session usingthe oral care implement; a sensor indicator unit integrated into theoral care implement and configured to generate user perceptible stimuliduring the oral care session upon the first sensor unit detecting thatthe monitored oral care parameter meets a certain criteria; a memoryunit configured to store data relating to the monitored oral careparameter; and a mode selection unit configured to allow a user toselect between both of a normal mode and a quiet mode for performance ofthe oral care session; wherein upon selection of the normal mode by theuser for the oral care session: (i) the first sensor unit is activeduring the oral care session; (ii) the sensor indicator unit is activeduring the oral care session; and (iii) the data relating to themonitored oral care parameter is stored in the memory unit during theoral care session; and wherein upon selection of the quiet mode by theuser for the oral care session: (i) the first sensor unit is activeduring the oral care session; (ii) the sensor indicator unit is inactiveduring the oral care session; and (iii) the data relating to themonitored oral care parameter is stored in the memory unit during theoral care session.

In another aspect, the invention may be an oral care system comprising:an oral care implement comprising an oral care tool for treating an oralcavity of a user; a control circuit configured to operate the oral careimplement in at least two user selectable modes comprising a normal modeand a quiet mode; wherein upon selection of the normal mode by the userfor an oral care session: (i) a first sensor unit configured to detect aphysiological oral care condition during the oral care session isactive; and (ii) a sensor indicator unit that generates user perceptiblestimuli during the oral care session in response to the detection of thephysiological oral care condition is active; and wherein upon selectionof the quiet mode by the user for an oral care session: (i) the firstsensor unit is active during the oral care session; and (ii) the sensorindicator unit is inactive during the oral care session.

In yet another aspect, the invention may be a method of operating anoral care implement of an oral care system during an oral care session,the oral care system comprising a control circuit configured to operatethe oral care implement in at least two user selectable modes comprisinga normal mode and a quiet mode, the method comprising: a) receiving auser mode selection selecting a desired one of the normal mode and thequiet mode from the at least two user selectable modes; b-1) upon theuser mode selection being the normal mode, the oral care implement beingactivated so that: (i) a first sensor unit is active and monitors for aphysiological oral care condition during the oral care session; and (ii)a sensor indicator unit is active and generates user perceptible stimuliduring the oral care session in response to the physiological oral carecondition being detected by the first sensor unit; and b-2) upon theuser mode selection being the quiet mode, the oral care implement beingactivated so that: (i) the first sensor unit is active and monitors forthe physiological oral care condition during the oral care session; and(ii) the sensor indicator unit is inactive during the oral care session.

In a further aspect, the invention may be an oral care implementcomprising: a handle comprising: a gripping portion having a distal end;and an engagement component coupled to the distal end of the grippingportion, the engagement component comprising: a plate portion comprisinga top surface and an aperture; and a first engagement feature; and astem extending through the opening in the engagement component andprotruding from the plate portion so that the top surface of the plateportion forms an annular shoulder that circumscribes the stem; an oralcare refill head comprising: an oral care treatment portion; and asleeve portion comprising an inner surface that defines a sleeve cavityhaving a cavity axis, the sleeve portion comprising a second engagementfeature; the oral care refill head alterable between: a first state inwhich the oral care refill head is separated from the handle; and asecond state in which the stem of the handle is disposed within thesleeve cavity of the sleeve portion, wherein in the second state thefirst and second engagement features mate with one another to at leastone of: (1) position the oral care refill head and the handle in anoperational alignment; and (2) lock the oral care refill head to thehandle.

In a still further aspect, the invention may be an oral care refill headfor detachable coupling to a stem of a handle, the oral care refill headcomprising: an oral treatment portion comprising a plurality of toothcleaning elements protruding from a front surface of a head body; and asleeve portion extending from the oral treatment portion to a proximaledge, the sleeve portion comprising: a front surface that faces the samedirection as the front surface of the head body and a rear surfaceopposite the front surface; an inner surface defining a sleeve cavityextending along a sleeve axis and configured to receive the stem of thehandle; a window aperture formed into the front surface at a locationthat is adjacent to the plurality of tooth cleaning elements; a lockingaperture formed into the rear surface and configured to snap-interlockwith a locking protuberance of the stem of the handle; and a pluralityof ribs extending from the inner surface of the sleeve portion in acircumferentially spaced apart manner, the plurality of ribs defining aplurality of channels that include an alignment channel having a greaterwidth than a remainder of the plurality of channels so that thealignment channel is the only one of the plurality of channels capableof receiving an alignment protrusion of the handle.

In yet another aspect, the invention may be an oral care refill head fordetachable coupling to a stem of a handle, the oral care refill headcomprising: an oral treatment portion comprising a plurality of toothcleaning elements; and a sleeve portion extending from the oraltreatment portion to a proximal edge, the sleeve portion comprising: aninner surface defining a sleeve cavity extending along a sleeve axis andconfigured to receive the stem of the handle; a window aperture adjacentto the plurality of tooth cleaning elements; and an elongated alignmentrib extending from the inner surface of the sleeve portion, at least aportion of the elongated alignment rib being aligned with and visiblethrough the window aperture, the elongated alignment rib configured topress against the stem of the handle to force a first sensor unit on thestem to extend through the window aperture.

In another aspect, the invention may be an oral care refill head fordetachable coupling to a stem of a handle, the oral care refill headcomprising: an oral treatment portion comprising a plurality of toothcleaning elements protruding from a front surface of a head body; and asleeve portion extending from the oral treatment portion to a proximaledge, the sleeve portion comprising: a front surface that faces the samedirection as the front surface of the head body and a rear surfaceopposite the front surface; an inner surface defining a sleeve cavityextending along a sleeve axis and configured to receive the stem of thehandle; a window aperture formed into the front surface at a locationthat is adjacent to the plurality of tooth cleaning elements; and alocking aperture formed into the rear surface and configured tosnap-interlock with a locking protuberance of the stem of the handle.

In a further aspect, the invention may be a handle for detachablycoupling to an oral care refill head, the handle comprising: a grippingportion having a distal end; and an engagement component coupled to thedistal end of the gripping portion, the engagement component comprising:a plate portion comprising a top surface and an aperture; and a firstengagement feature configured to mate with an engagement feature of theoral care refill head to at least one of: (1) position the oral carerefill head and the handle in an operational alignment; and (2) lock theoral care refill head to the handle; and a stem extending along a stemaxis through the opening in the engagement component and protruding fromthe plate portion so that the top surface of the plate portion forms anannular shoulder that circumscribes the stem.

In a still further aspect, the invention may be a handle for detachablycoupling to an oral care refill head, the handle comprising a grippingportion having a distal end; and a stem extending from the distal end ofthe gripping portion so that the distal end of the gripping portionforms an annular shoulder that circumscribes the stem; and an alignmentprotrusion extending from the annular shoulder, the alignment protrusionconfigured to mate with an alignment feature of the oral care refillhead to position the oral care refill head and the handle in anoperational alignment; and wherein the alignment protrusion a separatecomponent from the stem.

In another aspect, the invention may be an oral care system comprising:an oral care implement comprising an oral care tool for treating an oralcavity of a user; a control circuit comprising, in operable cooperation:a first sensor unit coupled to the oral care implement and configured todetect: (1) presence of an oral surface during performance of an oralcare session using the oral care implement; and (2) presence of an oralmalady on the oral surface during performance of the oral care session;a sensor indicator unit configured to generate user perceptible stimuliduring the oral care session: the control circuit configured to:generate a first user perceptible stimulus with the sensor indicatorunit during the oral care session when the first sensor unit isdetecting the presence of the oral surface and the presence of the oralmalady on the oral surface; generate a second user perceptible stimuluswith the sensor indicator unit during the oral care session when thefirst sensor unit is detecting the presence of the oral surface and thatthe oral surface is free of the oral malady; and generate a third userperceptible stimulus with the sensor indicator unit during the oral caresession when the first sensor unit is not detecting the presence of theoral surface, wherein the first, second, and third user perceptiblestimuli are different from one another.

In still another aspect, the invention may be an oral care systemcomprising: an oral care implement comprising an oral care tool fortreating an oral cavity of a user; a control circuit comprising, inoperable cooperation: a first sensor unit coupled to the oral careimplement and configured to detect presence of an oral malady on an oralsurface of the user's oral cavity during performance of an oral caresession with the oral care implement; a timer unit configured to tracktime during performance of the oral care session; a second sensor unitconfigured to determine orientation of the oral care implement duringthe oral care session; and an indicator unit configured to generate afirst user perceptible stimulus during the oral care session; thecontrol circuit configured to: start a zone timer of the timer unit upondetermining that the oral care tool has started treating a zone of theuser's oral cavity; upon a first time period having passed, activatingthe indicator unit to generate the first user perceptible stimulus ifthe first sensor unit is not detecting the presence of the oral maladyin the zone, thereby signaling the user to move the oral care tool to anext zone of the user's oral cavity; upon the first time period havingpassed, continuing to run the timer unit without activating theindicator unit to generate the first user perceptible stimulus if thefirst sensor unit is detecting the presence of the oral malady in thezone; and upon a second time period having passed, activating theindicator unit to generate the first user perceptible stimulus even ifthe first sensor unit is still detecting the presence of the oral maladyin the zone, thereby signaling the user to move the oral care tool to anext zone of the user's oral cavity, wherein the second time period isgreater than the first time period.

In a further aspect, the invention may be a powered oral care implementcomprising: a head comprising an oral care tool; a handle comprising agripping portion; a user-operated actuator on the handle for controllingone or more functions of the oral care implement; an illumination ringon the handle that surrounds the user operated actuator; a controlcircuit comprising, in operable cooperation; a power source; an actuatorunit in operable cooperation with the user-operated actuator; a timerunit configured to track time during performance of the oral caresession; a time indicator unit comprising: one or more light sourcespositioned to illuminate the illumination ring; and the control circuitconfigured to activate the one or more light sources in a manner thatinforms the user, during the oral care session, of the time that haspassed during performance of the oral care session.

In a still further aspect, the invention may be a powered oral careimplement comprising: a head comprising an oral care tool; a handlecomprising a gripping portion; a user-operated actuator on the handlefor controlling one or more functions of the oral care implement; anillumination ring on the gripping portion of the handle, theillumination ring having a continuous exposed ring surface thatsurrounds the user operated actuator; a control circuit comprising, inoperable cooperation, a power source, an actuator unit in operablecooperation with the user-operated actuator, and one or more lightsources; and a light divider component comprising a body having aplurality of arcuate apertures arranged in a ring and separated from oneanother by divider walls, the light divider component mounted in thehandle housing of the gripping portion so that the ring formed by theplurality of arcuate apertures is aligned with the illumination ring.

Further areas of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It shouldbe understood that the detailed description and specific examples, whileindicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended forpurposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an oral care system that includes an oral careimplement that is in operable communication with an electronic device inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control circuit of the oral care systemof FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates the oral care system of FIG. 1 with an oral cavitymap depicted on a display of the electronic device;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating which components of the control circuitare active and inactive in the various modes of operation;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the oral care implement of the oral caresystem of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of the oral care implement of FIG. 5with an oral care refill head and an engagement component detached froma handle;

FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8A is a close-up view of area VIII of FIG. 7;

FIG. 8B is a rear view of area VIII of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a front view of the oral care refill head of the oral careimplement of FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 is a bottom view of the oral care refill head of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XI-XI of FIG. 5;

FIG. 11A is a close-up view of area XIA of FIG. 11;

FIGS. 12A-12C are cross-sectional views of the oral care implement ofFIG. 5 that sequentially illustrate the process of coupling the oralcare refill head to the handle;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XIII-XIII of FIG. 5;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XIV-XIV of FIG. 5;

FIG. 15 is a front view of the oral care implement of FIG. 1;

FIG. 16A is an exploded front perspective view of the oral careimplement of FIG. 1;

FIG. 16B is an exploded rear perspective view of the oral care implementof FIG. 1;

FIG. 17 is a front view of a light divider component of the oral careimplement of FIG. 1;

FIG. 18 is a front view of a circuit board of the oral care implement ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the circuit board of FIG. 18 with thelight divider component of FIG. 17 coupled thereto;

FIG. 20 is a close-up view of area XX of FIG. 11;

FIGS. 21A-21D are front views of the oral care implement of FIG. 1illustrating progressive illumination of an illumination ring thereofover the passage of time;

FIGS. 22A-22D are perspective views of the oral care implement of FIG. 1with a handle housing thereof shown transparent illustrating progressiveillumination of light sources of a time indicator unit thereof over thepassage of time;

FIG. 23 is a partially exploded view of a handle of the oral careimplement of FIG. 1, wherein a collar and an engagement component areexploded from a gripping portion of the handle to expose light sourcesof a sensor indicator unit;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of the oral care implement of FIG. 1illustrating a light ring thereof illuminated;

FIG. 25 is a flow chart showing operation of the control circuit of theoral care system of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 26 is a flow chart showing operation of the control circuit of theoral care implement of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merelyexemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention,its application, or uses.

The description of illustrative embodiments according to principles ofthe present invention is intended to be read in connection with theaccompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entirewritten description. In the description of embodiments of the inventiondisclosed herein, any reference to direction or orientation is merelyintended for convenience of description and is not intended in any wayto limit the scope of the present invention. Relative terms such as“lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “above,” “below,” “up,”“down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivatives thereof (e.g.,“horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed torefer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawingunder discussion. These relative terms are for convenience ofdescription only and do not require that the apparatus be constructed oroperated in a particular orientation unless explicitly indicated assuch. Terms such as “attached,” “affixed,” “connected,” “coupled,”“interconnected,” and similar refer to a relationship wherein structuresare secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectlythrough intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigidattachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise.Moreover, the features and benefits of the invention are illustrated byreference to the exemplified embodiments. Accordingly, the inventionexpressly should not be limited to such exemplary embodimentsillustrating some possible non-limiting combination of features that mayexist alone or in other combinations of features; the scope of theinvention being defined by the claims appended hereto.

Features of the present invention(s) may be implemented in software,hardware, firmware, or combinations thereof. In particular, the variousunits that form a part of the control circuit described herein maycomprise software, hardware, firmware, and combinations thereof. Eachsuch “unit” may comprise its own processor, or it may be coupled to aprocesser that is used for all components of the control circuit, orsome combination of this may occur. The computer programs describedherein are not limited to any particular embodiment, and may beimplemented in an operating system, application program, foreground orbackground processes, driver, or any combination thereof. The computerprograms may be executed on a single computer or server processor ormultiple computer or server processors.

Processors (also referred to as controllers) described herein may be anycentral processing unit (CPU), microprocessor, micro-controller,computational, or programmable device or circuit configured forexecuting computer program instructions (e.g., code). Various processorsmay be embodied in computer and/or server hardware of any suitable type(e.g., desktop, laptop, notebook, tablets, cellular phones, etc.) andmay include all the usual ancillary components necessary to form afunctional data processing device including without limitation a bus,software and data storage such as volatile and non-volatile memory,input/output devices, graphical user interfaces (GUIs), removable datastorage, and wired and/or wireless communication interface devicesincluding Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LAN, etc. In one particular embodiment, aprocessor unit may reside on the device (oral care implement asdescribed herein) itself and all processing can be done internally andintegrally on the device without limitation and without the need of anyoutside resource.

Computer-executable instructions or programs (e.g., software or code)and data described herein may be programmed into and tangibly embodiedin a non-transitory computer-readable medium that is accessible to andretrievable by a respective processor as described herein whichconfigures and directs the processor to perform the desired functionsand processes by executing the instructions encoded in the medium. Adevice embodying a programmable processor configured to suchnon-transitory computer-executable instructions or programs may bereferred to as a “programmable device,” or “device,” and multipleprogrammable devices in mutual communication may be referred to as a“programmable system.” It should be noted that non-transitory“computer-readable medium” as described herein may include, withoutlimitation, any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory includingrandom access memory (RAM) and various types thereof, read-only memory(ROM) and various types thereof, USB flash memory, and magnetic oroptical data storage devices (e.g., internal/external hard disks, floppydiscs, magnetic tape CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, optical disk, ZIP™ drive, Blu-raydisk, and others), which may be written to and/or read by a processoroperably connected to the medium.

In certain embodiments, the present invention(s) may be embodied in theform of computer-implemented processes and apparatuses such asprocessor-based data processing and communication systems or computersystems for practicing those processes. The present invention(s) mayalso be embodied in the form of software or computer program codeembodied in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, whichwhen loaded into and executed by the data processing and communicationssystems or computer systems, the computer program code segmentsconfigure the processor to create specific logic circuits configured forimplementing the processes.

Referring to FIG. 1, an oral care system 10 is illustrated in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention. The oral care system 10generally comprises an oral care implement 100 and an electronic device500. In the exemplified embodiment, the oral care implement 100 is atoothbrush and the electronic device 500 is a smart phone. However, theinvention is not to be so limited in all embodiments and the oral careimplement 100 could take on other structural forms, including being apowered or manual toothbrush, a tongue scraper, a gum and soft tissuecleanser, a water pick, an interdental device, a tooth polisher, aspecially designed ansate implement having tooth engaging elements, orany other type of implement that is commonly used for oral care.Furthermore, in still other embodiments the implement may not bespecifically used for oral care, but could instead be a personal careimplement which includes the various types of oral care implements notedherein and also includes hairbrushes, razors, body scrubbers, skintreatment devices, or the like. Thus, it is to be understood that theinventive concepts discussed herein can be applied to any type of oralcare implement or personal care implement unless a specific type ofimplement is specified in the claims. The structural and functionaldetails of the oral care implement 100 will be provided below inaccordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention.Moreover, the electronic device 500 is not limited to being a smartphone, and it could be a computer, a laptop, a notebook, a tablet, anytype of cellular phone, or other similar devices.

In embodiments that include the oral care implement 100 and theelectronic device 500, those two devices are configured to be inoperable communication with each other in some circumstances so thatdata monitored or acquired by one of the devices can be transmitted tothe other for processing, storage, display, or other purposes.Furthermore, the operable communication may allow user interaction withthe electronic device 500 to control the operation of the oral careimplement 100. Still furthermore, the operable communication may allowan app that is launched on the electronic device 500 to controloperation of the oral care implement 100. For example, if the app isdesigned to store data about an oral care session, upon the memory inthe electronic device 500 (or the memory to which the app has access)becoming full, the electronic device 500 may power down the oral careimplement 100.

The operable communication between the oral care implement and theelectronic device 500 is illustrated in FIG. 1, and it may be achievedby wireless or hard wire techniques. For example, in some embodiments awire may be coupled to the oral care implement 100 and to the electronicdevice 500 to place those two devices into operable communication withone another. In other embodiments, wireless techniques may be usedincluding Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LAN, Zigbee, infrared, RFID, or the like.However, in other embodiments the oral care system 10 may comprise theoral care implement 100 by itself without the electronic device 500 andall of the data acquisition and processing may take place within theoral care implement 100. Thus, while the drawings show some exemplaryembodiments of the invention, it should be appreciated that theinvention is not to be limited solely by those exemplary embodiments.Rather, the scope of the invention as described herein covers variationsthat are not shown explicitly in the drawings but that are explicitlydescribed and/or claimed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the oral care implement 100 comprises a handle 200and an oral care refill head 300. In the exemplified embodiment the oralcare refill head 300 is detachably coupled to the handle 200 so that theoral care refill head 300 can be replaced when the cleaning elementsthereof become worn. Details regarding the connection mechanism(s) thatfacilitate the coupling between the oral care refill head 300 and thehandle 200 will be provided below. In other embodiments, the oral careimplement 100 may be an integral or monolithic structure that includesthe handle 200 and the head such that the head is not detachable fromthe handle 200. As also shown in FIG. 1, the oral care implement 100 isin operable communication with the electronic device 500. In theexemplary embodiment, the oral care implement 100 and the electronicdevice 500 are wirelessly coupled, and the details of how this may beachieved will be provided below in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

The oral care refill head 300 may comprise an oral care treatmentportion (also referred to herein as an oral care tool) 310 and a sleeveportion 340. In the exemplified embodiment, the oral care tool 310comprises a plurality of tooth cleaning elements 311. The term “toothcleaning elements” may be used in a generic sense to refer to anystructure that can be used to clean, polish, or wipe the teeth and/orsoft oral tissue (e.g. tongue, cheek, gums, etc.) through relativesurface contact. Common examples of “tooth cleaning elements” include,without limitation, bristle tufts, filament bristles, fiber bristles,nylon bristles, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) bristles, spiralbristles, rubber bristles, elastomeric protrusions, flexible polymerprotrusions, combinations thereof, and/or structures containing suchmaterials or combinations. Thus, any combination of these tooth cleaningelements may be used within the tooth cleaning element field in someembodiments. Furthermore, where bristles are used for one or more of thetooth cleaning elements 311, such bristles can be tapered, end-rounded,spiral, or the like. The tooth cleaning elements 311 may be coupled tothe oral care tool 310 using any known techniques such as staples,in-mold tufting, anchor-free tufting (AFT), PTT, or the like.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the oral care system 10 generally comprisesthe oral care implement 100 and a control circuit 110. The controlcircuit 110 comprises several different “units” and other electroniccomponents that are in operable communication or operable cooperationwith one another. As mentioned above, the term “unit” as used hereinrefers to an electronic component and its software, hardware, andprocessors, although the processors may be separate components that arecoupled to the “unit” as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 2. As will bediscussed below, in the exemplified embodiment there is a processor 111associated with the oral care implement 100 and a processor 121associated with the electronic device 500, and each of the electroniccomponents of the control circuit 110 is operably coupled to one of theprocessors 111, 121. However, in other embodiments each of the “units”may have its own controller. In such embodiments, the various “units”may still be coupled to one of the controllers 111, 121, or they may notif they are able to process and transmit/receive data as needed forproper operation of the control circuit 110 as described herein.

In the exemplified embodiment, some components of the control circuit110 are illustrated as being in the oral care implement 100 and othercomponents of the control circuit 110 are illustrated as being in theelectronic device 500. However, it should be appreciated that theinvention is not limited to this exact configuration in all embodiments.Specifically, some of the components of the control circuit 110 that aredepicted as being located in the oral care implement 100 may be locatedin the electronic device 500 in other embodiments and some of thecomponents that are depicted as being located in the electronic device500 may be located in the oral care implement 100 in other embodiments.The particular components of the control circuit 110 to which thisapplies will be noted below.

Furthermore, in the exemplified embodiment the components/units in theoral care implement 100 are depicted as being coupled to the processor111 and the components/units in the electronic device 500 are depictedas being coupled to the processor 121. However, the invention is not tobe so limited in all embodiments. Specifically, in some embodimentsthere may be one processor 121 common to all of the components/units ofthe control circuit 110. In other embodiments, at least some of thecomponents/units of the control circuit 110 that are located in the oralcare implement 100 may be operably coupled to the processor 121 of theelectronic device 500. For example, various sensors in the oral careimplement 100 may acquire data and then transmit that data to theprocessor 121 in the electronic device 500 in some embodiments.Furthermore, the processor 121 may be configured to control certainoperation of the oral care implement 100 in some embodiments, such aspower on/off, activation of the components, and the like.

In the exemplified embodiment, the following components of the controlcircuit 110 are located in the oral care implement 100 in operablecooperation: the processor 111, a power source 112, a first sensor unit113, a sensor indicator unit 114, a timer unit 115 (which may include azone timer and a session timer, as discussed below), a time indicatorunit 116, a second sensor unit 117, an actuator unit 130 that comprisesa mode selection unit 118 and a power unit 131, a motion inducing unit119, a memory unit 127, and a first wireless communication unit 120. Inthe exemplified embodiment, the following components of the controlcircuit 110 are located in the electronic device 500 in operablecooperation: the processor 121, a second wireless communication unit122, a toothbrush application 123 comprising a mapping unit 124, a powersource 125, and a display unit 126. The first and second wirelesscommunications units 120, 122 are configured for operable communicationwith one another, so that data monitored, acquired and/or processed bythe control circuit 110 within the oral care implement 100 can betransmitted to the electronic device 500 and vice versa. Thus, in asense, the components of the control circuit 110 that are located in theoral care implement may be in operable communication with one or more ofthe components of the control circuit 110 that are located in theelectronic device 500.

As mentioned above, FIG. 2 illustrates one exemplary embodiment of thecontrol circuit 110, but alternatives are possible and fall within thescope of the invention described herein. For example, in someembodiments the memory unit 127 may be located in the electronic device500 instead of in the oral care implement 100. In other embodiments,there may be a memory unit located in each of the electronic device 500and the oral care implement 100. In still other embodiments, the memoryunit 127 may not be located in either of the oral care implement 100 orthe electronic device 500, but it could be part of a separate componentaltogether. In some embodiments, the processors 111, 121 may comprisememory units therein, such that there may not be any stand-alone memoryunits distinct from the processors 111, 121. In some embodiments, themode selection unit 118 may be located in the electronic device 500instead of in the oral care implement 100. In some embodiments, thesecond sensor unit 117, or portions thereof, may be located in theelectronic device 500 instead of in the oral care implement 100.Moreover, in some embodiments the mapping unit 124 may be integratedinto the oral care implement 100 rather than the electronic device 500.Thus, with these potential modifications in mind, the full breadth andscope of the invention set forth herein should be appreciated.

With continued reference to FIG. 2, the various components of thecontrol circuit 110 will be described in a bit more detail. However, itshould be appreciated that even more detail will be provided later on inthis document as some exemplary embodiments of the invention aredescribed. Thus, the discussion with reference to FIG. 2 is intended tobe more of an overview with an understanding that additional details inaccordance with one or more specific structural and functionalembodiments will be provided later on in this document.

In the exemplified embodiment, the power source 112 that is located inthe oral care implement 100 may comprise one or more batteries.Moreover, in some embodiments the power source 112 may be omitted andthe oral care implement 100 may operate via a direct coupling to a mainspower. In still other embodiments, solar power or other power sourcescan be used to power the oral care implement. The power source 112 maybe individually coupled to each of the components of the control circuit110 that are located in the oral care implement 100, or the power source112 may be coupled to the centralized processor 111, which can in turntransmit power from the power source 112 to each of the other componentsas needed. More than one more power 112 may be included in the oral careimplement 100 as needed to provide sufficient power to all of thecomponents of the control circuit 110.

The first sensor unit 113 is integrated into the oral care implement 100and may be configured to monitor an oral care parameter duringperformance of an oral care session using the oral care implement 100.The oral care parameter may be a physiological condition of the user.For example, the oral care parameter may be the existence (or lackthereof) of bacteria, plaque, or tartar in the oral cavity. The oralcare parameter may alternatively be the existence (or lack thereof) ofdental caries or cavities, halitosis, gum disease, cancers, oralmanifestations of HIV, and various other ailments that may affect theoral cavity. In the exemplified embodiment, the first sensor unit 113comprises a plaque detection unit and the physiological condition ororal care parameter that is monitored may be the existence or lackthereof of plaque on oral surfaces of the user's oral cavity.

Thus, in the exemplified embodiment, the first sensor unit 113 comprisesthe necessary sensor(s) to enable it to detect the existence or lackthereof of plaque on a user's teeth and/or other oral surfaces. In oneparticular embodiment, the first sensor unit 113 may comprise a plaquedetection unit that is configured to detect the presence or absence ofplaque (or tartar or calculus or other similar tooth build-up) on theteeth. In such embodiments, the first sensor unit 113 may comprise animaging device such as an optical sensor, which in one embodiment may bea camera or the like for obtaining images of the surfaces of the user'soral cavity to determine the presence or absence of plaque or otherphysiological oral conditions. The first sensor unit 113 may also (oralternatively) comprise light emitters, light source(s) transmitters,receivers, and various other hardware necessary to ensure that the firstsensor unit 113 is capable of performing its intended sensing function(which, in the exemplified embodiment, may be the detection of plaque asnoted herein). As mentioned above, the first sensor unit 113 maycomprise a processor instead of or in addition to being coupled to theprocessor 111. Additional information regarding the first sensor unit113 and the manner in which plaque may be detected in accordance withvarious embodiments of the present invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 9,220,583, issued Dec. 29, 2015, the entirety of which isincorporated herein by reference.

The sensor indicator unit 114 of the control circuit 110 is alsointegrated into the oral care implement 100 in the exemplifiedembodiment. The sensor indicator unit 114 is operably coupled to thefirst sensor unit 113 so that the sensor indicator unit 114 can generateuser perceptible stimuli during an oral care session upon the firstsensor unit 113 detecting that the monitored oral care parameter meets acertain criteria or threshold. In the exemplified embodiment, the firstsensor unit 113 and the sensor indicator unit 114 are coupled to theprocessor 111. Thus, the first sensor unit 113 monitors the oral careparameter during performance of an oral care session and transmits datarelated to this monitoring to the processor 111. The processor 111 thenprocesses this data and sends a signal to the sensor indicator unit 114instructing the sensor indicator unit 114 whether or not to generate anyof one or more user perceptible stimuli, and if so, which particularuser perceptible stimuli to generate. In other embodiments, the firstsensor unit 113 may be coupled directly to the sensor indicator unit114, particularly in embodiments whereby the first sensor unit 113and/or the sensor indicator unit 114 comprise their own processor.

The sensor indicator unit 114 comprises all of the hardware and softwarerequired for it to perform its indication function. The sensor indicatorunit 114 may provide an audible, visual, haptic, or other indicationthat is perceived by a user of the oral care implement 100. For example,in one embodiment the sensor indicator unit 114 may provide differentsounds to indicate different results of the monitoring of the oral careparameter being performed by the first sensor unit 113 and/or toindicate different passages of time as described in greater detailbelow. In another embodiment, the sensor indicator unit 114 may providedifferent visual signals, such as illuminating different colored lights,illuminating lights in different patterns, illuminating differentsymbols, or the like to indicate different results of the monitoring ofthe oral care parameter being performed by the first sensor unit 113and/or to indicate different passages of time as described in greaterdetail below. In still other embodiments, the sensor indicator unit 114may provide different patterns of vibration that are felt by the user ofthe oral care implement 100 to indicate different results of themonitoring of the oral care parameter being performed by the firstsensor unit 113 and/or to indicate different passages of time asdescribed in greater detail below.

As noted above, in one particular embodiment the first sensor unit 113is a plaque detection unit. In such an embodiment, the sensor indicatorunit 114 may generate a first user perceptible stimulus while plaque isbeing detected on an oral surface by the first sensor unit 113, a seconduser perceptible stimulus when the oral surface is determined to be freeof plaque by the first sensor unit 113, a third user perceptiblestimulus when the first sensor unit 113 is covered (such as bytoothpaste slurry or the like) and therefore unable to perform itsmonitoring function, and a fourth user perceptible stimulus when thefirst sensor unit 113 is not covered but is still unable to view theteeth to perform its monitoring function (for example, the oral careimplement 100 may be held at an angle that prevents the first sensorunit 113 from seeing the teeth and performing its function, or the firstsensor unit 113 may be removed from the oral cavity). In otherembodiments, the user perceptible stimulus generated by the sensorindicator unit 114 may be correlated with the passage of time during anoral care session either alone or in combination with data acquired bythe first sensor unit. This will be described in greater detail belowwith particular reference to FIG. 25.

Each of the first, second, third, and fourth user perceptible stimulicould be different sounds or patterns of sound, different vibrationpatterns, or different colors or patterns of light that can be perceivedby the user. In one exemplified embodiment which will be described ingreater detail below, the first, second, third and fourth userperceptible stimuli may be the illumination of light either in adifferent color, a different pattern, or some combination thereof. Thus,in one particular embodiment the first user perceptible stimulus may belight of a first color and the second user perceptible stimulus may belight of a second color. In embodiments that include it, the third userperceptible stimulus may be light of a third color, and the fourth userperceptible stimulus may be light of a fourth color. In otherembodiments, the fourth user perceptible stimulus may be light of thethird color, but in a different illumination pattern than the third userperceptible stimulus. Thus, for example, the third user perceptiblestimulus may be the illumination of the third color of light in a solidand non-blinking/flashing pattern, whereas the fourth user perceptiblestimulus may be the illumination of the third color of light in ablinking/flashing pattern. Of course, these are merely examples andthere are many different possibilities for the different userperceptible stimuli. In some embodiments, combinations of audible,tactile, and visual stimuli may be used. Thus, one or more of the userperceptible stimuli may be the emission of a sound, one or more of theuser perceptible stimuli may be the emission of light, and/or one ormore of the user perceptible stimuli may be a vibration or othersensation (such as a heating sensation, a cooling sensation, or thelike) that is felt by the user.

The structure and components of the sensor indicator unit 114 isdictated, at least in part, by the particular stimuli being generated bythe sensor indicator unit 114. Thus, for example, if the userperceptible stimuli is a sound, the sensor indicator unit 114 maycomprise a speaker, if the user perceptible stimuli is tactile such as avibration, the sensor indicator unit 114 may comprise a vibrationgenerator, and if the user perceptible stimuli is visual, the sensorindicator unit 114 may comprise one or more light sources such as lightemitting diodes or any other type of light emitter. A specificembodiment of the sensor indicator unit 114 that comprises one or morelight sources will be described in greater detail below.

The control circuit 110 also comprises the second sensor unit 117. Inthe exemplified embodiment the second sensor unit 117 is integrated intothe oral care implement 100. However, as noted above the second sensorunit 117 may be integrated into the electronic device 500 in otherembodiments. In still other embodiments, the second sensor unit 117 maynot be integrated into either of the oral care implement 100 or theelectronic device 500.

In the exemplified embodiment, the second sensor unit 117 is configuredto determine an orientation and/or position of the oral care implement100 within the user's oral cavity during the oral care session. Thus, asthe user is cleaning his/her oral cavity with the oral care implement100, the second sensor unit 117 is monitoring and/or determining theorientation and/or position of the oral care implement 100 relative tothe teeth of the oral cavity. Additional details for the second sensorunit 117 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention aredescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 10,349,733, issued Jul. 16, 2019, theentirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. However, thesecond sensor unit 117 may take on other forms in other embodiments. Forexample, the second sensor unit 117 may comprise an optical sensor thatdetermines the location of the oral care implement 100 in the oralcavity based on which tooth is within the frame of the optical sensor(for example, camera). The second sensor unit 117 may compriseaccelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, and other hardware forachieving its position detection function. In still other embodiments,the second sensor unit 117 may comprise any of one or more of opticalsensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, GPS, facialrecognition, or the like.

As noted above, in the exemplified embodiment the memory unit 127 of thecontrol circuit 110 is integrated into the oral care implement 100.However, the memory unit 127 could alternatively be integrated into theelectronic device 500. Furthermore, there could be multiple memoryunits, with at least one in each of the oral care implement 100 and theelectronic device 500. The memory unit 127 may be any type of memorydevice that is configured to store data either before or after such datahas been processed. Thus, the memory unit 127 may comprise ROM, PROM,RAM, SRAM, DRAM, SIMM, DIMM, or any other type of device commonly usedfor storage of data and/or other information.

In the exemplified embodiment, the first wireless communication unit 120is integrated into the oral care implement 100 to facilitatecommunication between the oral care implement 100 and the electronicdevice 500 and/or other electronic devices. In the exemplifiedembodiment, the first wireless communication unit 120 is configured forBluetooth communication, but other types of wireless communicationdevices and other types of wireless communication may be used instead inother embodiments.

The oral care implement 100 further comprises the motion inducing unit119, which may form a part of the control circuit 110 or may be inoperable cooperation with the control circuit 110 without forming a partof the control circuit 110. In the exemplified embodiment, the motioninducing unit 119 is operably coupled to the processor 111 so that theprocessor 111 can instruct the motion inducing unit 119 on itsoperation. The motion inducing unit 119 may comprise a motor such as aneccentric motor, or any other vibration generating device. The motioninducing unit 119 is configured to impart motion to the oral care tool310 of the oral care implement 100 along which the cleaning elements 311such as bristles are positioned. As a result, when the motion inducingunit 119 is activated, the cleaning elements 311 vibrate to improve thecleaning effect that they perform. The motion inducing unit 119 mayperform other functions as well, such as possibly playing a role in thegeneration of the user perceptible stimulus.

The timer unit 115 and the time indicator unit 116 are both integratedinto the oral care implement 100 in the exemplified embodiment. Thetimer unit 115 and the time indicator unit 116 are operably coupled tothe processor 111. The timer unit 115 and the time indicator unit 116may be coupled directly to each other in some embodiments, but theircoupling to the processor 111 is sufficient in the exemplifiedembodiment to ensure that data obtained by the timer unit 115 istransmitted to the time indicator unit 116 as described further herein.Each of the timer unit 115 and the time indicator unit 116 comprises thenecessary hardware, software, and processors to facilitate theiroperation.

The timer unit 115 may comprise any device that is configured to tracktime during performance of the oral care session. Thus, as the usercleans his/her oral cavity during the oral care session, the timer unit115 will keep track of the amount of time that has elapsed during theoral care session. Thus, the timer unit 115 may comprise a clock, atimer, a count-up timer, a count-down timer, a stopwatch, or the like.The timer unit 115 may comprise its own processor, or it may be coupledto the processor 111, or both. The memory unit 127 may be configured tostore data relating to the time tracked during the performance of theoral care session. Thus, as the oral care session takes place, the timerunit 115 tracks the time that has elapsed and data relating to the timetracked by the timer unit 115 is transmitted to (either directly orindirectly by way of the processor 111) and stored in the memory unit127.

The timer unit 115 may comprise a zone timer and a session timer, thedetails of which will be provided below. Briefly, the session timer maytrack the time that has elapsed during an oral care session from startof the session to completion of the session. The zone timer may tracktime in which a user performs the oral care session in a particular zonewithout the oral cavity. Thus, the oral cavity may be broken into aplurality of zones, and the zone timer may track time spent in each zoneso that it can operate in conjunction with the sensor indicator unit 114to prompt or otherwise signal a user to move from zone to zone so thatthe user does not spend insufficient time or too much time in a singlezone. Details of this usage and operation will be provided below, mostlywith reference to FIG. 25. In some embodiments, the timer unit 115 mayonly track real brushing time. Thus, in such embodiments if a user holdsthe device outside of the mouth the counters of the timer will notincrement.

The time indicator unit 116 is operably coupled to the timer unit 115,in the exemplified embodiment due to both of those units being coupledto the processor 111. The time indicator unit 116 is configured toinform the user, during the oral care session, of the amount of timethat has elapsed during the performance of the oral care session. Thus,the time indicator unit 116 preferably generates a user perceptiblesignal at various time intervals to indicate to the user the amount oftime that has elapsed during an oral care session. This may be desirablebecause it is generally agreed that people should brush their teeth forapproximately two minutes. Thus, providing the user with an indicationof the amount of time that has elapsed during the oral care session canbe beneficial to ensuring that the user continues the oral care sessionfor the entire time period, whether that be two minutes, three minutes,or some other pre-determined time period.

The time indicator unit 116 may comprise a speaker or the like if theuser perceptible signal that it generates is a sound, a vibrationgenerator or the like if the user perceptible signal that it generatesis haptic or tactile, or one or more lights if the user perceptiblesignal that is generates is visual. In the exemplified embodiment, aswill be described in greater detail below, the time indicator unit 116comprises a plurality of light emitters such as light emitting diodes orother light sources so that the time indicator unit 116 can provide avisual indication of the amount of time that has elapsed during the oralcare session to the user. The time indicator unit 116 may provide anindication to the user of the elapsed time in predetermined intervals,such as at every one-fourth of the total desired time period. Thus, forexample, if the desired time for the oral care session is two minutes,then the time indicator unit 116 may generate an indication (byilluminating one or more light sources) every 30 seconds. Specificdetails about the time indicator unit 116 in accordance with oneparticular embodiment of the present invention will be provided belowduring the discussion of one particular structural embodiment of theoral care implement 100.

The actuator unit 130 comprises the mode selection unit 118 and thepower unit 131. The actuator unit 130 is integrated into the oral careimplement in the exemplified embodiment. In some embodiments, some orall of the actuator unit 130 may be located in the electronic device 500instead of the oral care implement 100. Thus, for example, the modeselection unit 18 may be integrated into the electronic device 500 whilethe power unit 131 is integrated into the oral care implement 100, orboth of the mode selection unit 118 and the power unit 131 may beintegrated into the electronic device.

In the exemplified embodiment, the mode selection unit 118 comprises aswitch 128 (see FIG. 1) that is located on the oral care implement 100.Specifically, in the exemplified embodiment the mode selection switch128 is a button-type switch provided on the front surface of the handle200 of the oral care implement 100. Furthermore, in the exemplifiedembodiment the power unit 131 comprises a power switch 129 located onthe front surface of the handle 200. The mode selection unit 118 and thepower unit 131 are operably coupled to the processor 111. Actuation ofthe power switch 129 may cause the processor 111 to power the oral careimplement 100 on, which may include powering all of the components ofthe control circuit 110 that are integrated into the oral care implement100 as shown in FIG. 2 and described herein.

Actuation of the mode selection switch 128 may change a mode ofoperation of the oral care implement 100. Specifically, in theexemplified embodiment, the mode selection unit 118 is configured toallow a user to select between a normal mode and a quiet mode. Thus, insome embodiments, upon actuating the power switch 129, the oral careimplement 100 will be configured to operate in the normal mode. If,after the power switch 129 has been actuated, the mode selection switch128 is then actuated, the mode will be altered from the normal mode tothe quiet mode. Of course, in other embodiments the oral care implement100 may initially be powered on in the quiet mode such that actuation ofthe mode selection switch 128 will alter it into the normal mode. Insome embodiments, a user must actuate the mode selection switch 128within a predetermined period of time after actuation of the powerswitch 129 in order to change the mode from the normal mode to the quietmode, and/or vice versa. The predetermined period of time may be fiveseconds in one embodiment, or ten seconds in another embodiment, orfifteen seconds in another embodiment, or twenty seconds in anotherembodiment, or thirty seconds in another embodiment.

Still referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in the exemplified embodiment thecontrol circuit 110 comprises the following components integrated intoor otherwise coupled to the electronic device 500: the processor 121,the power source 125, the toothbrush app 123 comprising the mapping unit124, and the wireless communication unit 122. The electronic device 500may also comprise a display unit 126 that is operably coupled to thecontrol circuit 110.

The power source 125 may be any type of device typically used to poweran electronic device such as a smart phone. For example, the powersource 125 may be one or more batteries in some embodiments, althoughother power sources could be used in other embodiments. The wirelesscommunication unit 122 is configured for operable communication with thewireless communication unit 120 of the oral care implement 100. Thus,information gathered or processed by the oral care implement 100 can betransmitted to the electronic device 500 for various processing and/orstorage and/or display on the display unit 126. The display unit 126 maybe any type of display commonly used on an electronic device, such as aliquid-crystal display (LCD) or the like. The display unit 126 may allowfor user interaction such as being a touch screen in some embodiments.

The toothbrush app 123 may be a mobile application that is stored on amemory device (not shown) of the electronic device 500. Specifically,the toothbrush app 123 may be an app that can be downloaded from an appstore. The toothbrush app 123 may be a computer program or softwareapplication designed to run on an electronic device such as theelectronic device 500. Due to the operable communication between theelectronic device 500 and the oral care implement 100, data orinformation gathered or acquired from the sensors in the oral careimplement 100 can be transmitted to the electronic device 500 and usedby the toothbrush app 123 to provide the user with the data in a mannerthat is valuable to that particular user for improving his/her cleaningperformance or the like.

The toothbrush app 123 may comprise the mapping unit 124, which maycontain all of the necessary software, hardware, code, or the like toenable it to function and operate as described herein. In someembodiments, the mapping unit 124 may be configured to generate an oralcavity map in which locations of the physiological condition in theuser's oral cavity are identified based on data obtained from the firstand second sensor units 113, 114. Thus, as the first sensor unit 113monitors the oral care parameter during performance of an oral caresession and the second sensor unit 114 determines an orientation and/orposition of the oral care implement 100 within the user's oral cavityduring the oral care session, this information may be transmitted to themapping unit 124 of the electronic device 500.

Specifically, due to the communication between the oral care implement100 and the electronic device 500 (in the exemplified embodiment,wireless communication by way of the wireless communication units 120,122), the information obtained by the first and second sensor units 113,114 can be sent to the electronic device 500 either pre or postprocessing. Specifically, the information gathered by the first andsecond sensors 113, 114 may be processed by the processor 111 prior tobeing sent to the electronic device 500, or the information may be sentto the electronic device 500 for processing by the processor 121. At anyrate, either way the information eventually is transmitted to themapping unit 124, which can generate the oral cavity map to provide avisual indication to the user of the locations in the oral cavity thathave the physiological oral condition (for example, show where plaquewas found on the teeth). An exemplary oral cavity map is shown on adisplay 501 of the electronic device 500 in FIG. 3. Thus, in someembodiments the data relating to the monitored oral care parameter thatis stored in the memory unit 127 includes data acquired from both thefirst sensor unit 113 and the second sensor unit 114. In someembodiments, the data relating to the monitored oral care parameter alsocomprises the oral cavity map, which can also be stored in the memoryunit 127.

Referring to FIG. 4, the change in operation depending on whether theoral care implement 100 is in normal mode or quiet mode will bedescribed. As mentioned above, the mode selection unit 118 of theactuator unit 130 allows a user to decide whether he/she wants the oralcare implement 100 to operate in the normal mode or the quiet mode. Theoral care implement 100 may operate in the normal mode unless the useractuates the mode selection switch 128 within a specific time periodafter powering the oral care implement 100 on, in which case the oralcare implement 100 will operate in the quiet mode.

Upon activating the power switch 129, the oral care implement 100 willpower on and will be in the normal mode. Alternatively, the user mayselect the normal mode rather than having the oral care implement 100automatically operate in the normal mode. For example, upon powering theoral care implement 100 on the user may be provided with a choice tooperate in the normal mode or the quiet mode. When in the normal mode,upon the user beginning to clean the oral cavity with the oral careimplement 100 for an oral care session, the first sensor unit 113 willbe active during the oral care session. This means that the first sensorunit 113 will be monitoring the oral care parameter during the oral caresession. In accordance with the exemplified embodiment, the first sensorunit 113 will be monitoring the existence or lack thereof of plaque onthe oral surfaces or teeth of the oral cavity.

Furthermore, in the normal mode the sensor indicator unit 114 will beactive during the oral care session. Thus, in the normal mode the sensorindicator unit 114 will generate user perceptible stimuli during theoral care session upon the first sensor unit 113 detecting that themonitored oral care parameter meets certain criteria. With regard to oneexemplified embodiment, the sensor indicator unit 114 will generate userperceptible stimuli (light, sound, vibration, or the like) upon thefirst sensor unit 113 detecting a certain amount of plaque on the teeth.More specifically, in one particular embodiment the sensor indicatorunit 114 will generate light of one or more colors to provide anindication to the user that the first sensor unit 113 has detected anamount of plaque that exceeds a certain threshold. As noted, the sensorindicator unit 114 may be provide on or otherwise integrated into theoral care implement 100. Thus, the sensor indicator unit 114 maygenerate light which is emitted out of or from the oral care implement100 itself, such that it can be seen by a user while he/she isperforming the oral care session. Additional details about the sensorindicator unit 114 and its location and operation will be describedbelow in accordance with a structural embodiment of the oral careimplement.

In the normal mode, the data relating to the monitored oral careparameter is also stored in the memory unit 127 during the oral caresession. Thus, in the normal mode, the first sensor unit 113 is activeduring the oral care session to monitor an oral care parameter, datarelating to the oral care parameter being monitored by the first sensorunit 113 is stored in the memory unit 127 (this may occur during orafter the oral care session depending on whether the data is transmittedto the memory unit 127 in real-time of after the oral care session iscomplete), and the sensor indicator unit 114 is active.

As noted above, a user may desire to operate the oral care implement 100in the quiet mode instead of in the normal mode. This may be achieved bypressing the mode selection switch 129 after the oral care implement 100has been powered on and before beginning the oral care session, or inother ways as described herein and/or easily understood by personsskilled in the art. The quiet mode is very similar to the normal mode,except with regard to the operation of the sensor indicator unit 114.Thus, in the quiet mode, the first sensor unit 113 is active and ismonitoring the oral care parameter during the oral care session and thedata relating to the monitored oral care parameter is stored in thememory unit 127 either during or after the oral care session. However,the difference between the normal mode and the quiet mode is that in thequiet mode the sensor indicator unit 114 is inactive during the oralcare session. Thus, the sensor indicator unit 114 does not generate anyuser perceptible stimuli during the oral care session when the oral careimplement 100 is in the quiet mode.

Thus, in both the normal mode and the quiet mode the first sensor unit113 is still monitoring the oral care parameter (e.g., the existence orlack thereof of plaque on the teeth) and this data is still beingtransmitted to and stored by the memory unit 127 (which may be locatedin the oral care implement 100 as shown in FIG. 2, in the electronicdevice 500 as mentioned above, or elsewhere). This data may also stillbe displayed on the display unit 126 of the electronic device 500 eitherduring or after the oral care session via the toothbrush app 123 and/orthe mapping unit 124. However, whereas in the normal mode an indicationof the detection of the monitored oral care parameter is provided to theuser via user perceptible stimuli (lights, sounds, vibrations, etc.) onthe oral care implement 100, this does not occur in the quiet mode.Thus, for example, where the sensor indicator unit 114 comprises one ormore lights that are illuminated on the oral care implement 100, theselights are inactive (i.e., not operating) when the oral care implement100 is in the quiet mode. Thus, the quiet mode inactivates the sensorindicator unit 114 on the oral care implement 100 while all otherfeatures and electronic components of are active.

As also shown in FIG. 4, the motion inducing unit 119 may be active inboth the normal mode and the quiet mode. Thus, the motion inducing unit119 may impart vibrational motion to the cleaning elements in both thenormal and quiet modes. In that sense, the quiet mode does not make theoral care implement 100 operate without making sound, because the motioninducing unit 119 may produce sounds in some embodiments. Rather, thequiet mode turns off or deactivates the feature on the oral careimplement 100 that provides immediate, real-time feedback to the userthrough the generation of user perceptible stimuli in the form of sound,vibration, and/or lights. The wireless communication unit 120 in theoral care implement 100 and the wireless communication unit 122 in theelectronic device 500 may be active in both the normal and quiet modesso that data/information monitored and otherwise gathered by the oralcare implement 100 and its sensors can be transmitted to the electronicdevice 500 regardless of whether the oral care implement 100 isoperating in the normal mode or the quiet mode.

As noted above, the timer unit 115 and the time indicator unit 116 tracktime elapsed during performance of an oral care session and informs theuser of the time that has elapsed (through activation of lights, sounds,and/or vibrations). In the exemplified embodiment, the timer unit 115and the time indicator unit 116 are both active in the normal mode andin the quiet mode. However, in other embodiments, when the oral careimplement 100 is operating in the quiet mode the timer unit 115 may beactive to track time while the time indicator unit 116 may be inactiveso that user perceptible indication of the elapsed time is not providedto the user on the oral care implement 100 during the oral care session.

Referring to FIGS. 5-7, the oral care implement 100 will be described ingreater detail. Specifically, FIGS. 5-7 and the remaining figures inthis document illustrate various portions of the oral care implement100. This will allow for a more detailed description of some of thecomponents mentioned above, as well as a detailed description of somenew features not previously mentioned above. FIGS. 5-7 and the remainingfigures depict one exemplary embodiment of the oral care implement 100.However, it should be appreciated that the invention is not to belimited to the structural details of the oral care implement 100described below in all embodiments.

As mentioned above, the oral care implement 100 generally comprises ahandle 200 and an oral care refill head 300. The handle 200 and the oralcare refill head 300 may be formed of plastic such as polypropylene insome embodiments, although this is not required in all embodiments andother materials may be used including wood, metal, or the like. In theexemplified embodiment, the oral care refill head 300 is detachable fromthe handle 200 so that the oral care refill head 300 can be replacedwhen the cleaning elements 311 become worn or for other reasons (such asto use an oral care refill head 300 with cleaning elements formed from adifferent material or having a different pattern to achieve a particularcleaning function). Thus, the oral care refill head 300 may be alterablebetween a first state in which the oral care refill head 300 isseparated from the handle 200 (see, for example, FIGS. 6 and 7) and asecond state in which the oral care refill head 300 is coupled to thehandle 200 (see, for example, FIG. 5).

Referring to FIGS. 7, 9, and 10, the oral care refill head 300 will bedescribed in greater detail. The oral care refill head 300 comprises theoral care tool 310 (or oral care treatment portion) and a sleeve portion340. Furthermore, there are a plurality of tooth cleaning elements 311(bristles and/or lamella formed of nylon, rubber, or the like asmentioned above) on the oral care tool 310 that are used for treatmentand/or cleaning of a user's oral cavity, and particularly the teeth,gums, and tongue thereof.

The oral care tool 310 of the oral care refill head 300 comprises a headbody 312 having a front surface 313 and a rear surface 314. Theplurality of tooth cleaning elements 311 extend from the front surface313 of the head body 312. The sleeve portion 340 of the oral care refillhead 300 is connected to the head body 312 of the oral care tool 310 andextends from the head body 312 to a proximal end 341. A proximal portionof the sleeve portion 340 flares outwardly in a direction towards theproximal end 341. The sleeve portion 340 has an inner surface 342 and anouter surface 343, with the outer surface 343 comprising a front surface344 that faces the same direction as the front surface 313 of the headbody 312 and a rear surface 345 opposite the front surface 344.

The inner surface 342 of the sleeve portion 340 defines a sleeve cavity346 having a cavity axis A-A. The sleeve portion 340 is configured toreceive the stem 270 of the handle 200 when the oral care refill head300 is coupled to the handle 200 as described herein. The sleeve portion340 of the oral care refill head 300 comprises a sleeve snap element 347that is configured to mate with an engagement feature of the handle 200for purposes of coupling the oral care refill head 300 to the handle200. In the exemplified embodiment, the sleeve snap element 347 is alocking aperture located on the rear surface 345 of the sleeve portion340 of the oral care refill head 300. The locking aperture extendsthrough the thickness of the sleeve portion 340 and provides apassageway from the exterior environment into the sleeve cavity 346. Inthe exemplified embodiment, the locking aperture of the sleeve snapelement 347 is in the shape of an oval that is elongated in a directionthat is transverse to the cavity axis A-A. The locking aperture of thesleeve snap element 347 is spaced axially above the proximal end 341 ofthe sleeve portion 340. Although the sleeve snap element 347 of the oralcare refill head 300 is described herein as being a locking aperture,the invention is not to be so limited in all embodiments and in otherembodiments the sleeve snap element 347 may be a protuberance, a tab, orthe like that is configured to mate with a feature on the handle 200 forpurposes of locking the oral care refill head 300 in the second statewhereby it is coupled to the handle 200.

The sleeve portion 340 of the oral care refill head 300 also comprises awindow aperture 348 formed into the front surface 344 of the sleeveportion 340. The window aperture 348 extends through the thickness ofthe sleeve portion 340 and provides a passageway from the exteriorenvironment to the sleeve cavity 346. Furthermore, the window aperture348 is located adjacent to and just below the cleaning elements 311. Thewindow aperture 348 also has an oval shape, although the window aperture348 is elongated in a direction that is parallel to the cavity axis A-A.The window aperture 348 is immediately adjacent to and below thecleaning elements 311 in the exemplified embodiment. As will bedescribed in more detail below, the window aperture 348 is aligned withthe first sensor unit 113, which is located on the stem 270 of thehandle 200, when the oral care refill head 300 is coupled to the handle270 so that the first sensor unit 113 is exposed through the windowaperture 348. This enables the first sensor unit 113 to have visualaccess to the oral cavity through the window aperture 348 during use ofthe oral care implement 100 so that the first sensor unit 113 canperform its monitoring function as described herein.

Furthermore, the oral care refill head 300 comprises a transparentwindow 370 overlying and/or covering the window aperture 348. Thetransparent window 370 is transparent to ensure that the first sensorunit 113 has an unimpeded view through the transparent window 370 andinto the oral cavity during an oral care session. In the exemplifiedembodiment, the window 370 comprises at least one divider wall 371dividing the transparent window 370 into a plurality of sections. In theexemplified embodiment, each of the sections of the transparent window370 is aligned with a different component (i.e., an optical sensor 140,a light source 141, and a receiver 142 described below with reference toFIGS. 5-8B) of the first sensor unit 113. The optical sensor 140 may bea camera in one embodiment. The dividers help to ensure that stray lightdoes not saturate the optical sensor to ensure proper functioning.However, in other embodiments the dividers may be omitted so long as itcan be ensured that such stray light will not cause a malfunction orimproper operation of the device. In various different embodiments, thewindow aperture 348 may be an open aperture, the window aperture 348 maybe covered by the transparent window 370 so that the first sensor unit113 can be protected against damage from fluids, and in otherembodiments the window aperture 348 may not be an aperture at all, butmay instead comprise a portion of the sleeve 340 that is formed from atransparent material.

Still referring to FIGS. 7, 9, and 10, additional features of the oralcare refill head 300 will be described. In the exemplified embodiment,the oral care refill head 300 comprises a plurality of ribs 350 thatextend from the inner surface 342 of the sleeve portion 340 in acircumferentially spaced apart manner. In the exemplified embodiment,each of the plurality of ribs 350 extends from a position that is spacedfrom but adjacent to the proximal end 341 in a direction towards thehead body 312. However, the plurality of ribs 350 do not extend the fulllength of the sleeve 340. Rather, the plurality of ribs 350 terminate at(or near/adjacent to) the aperture of the sleeve snap element 347 in theexemplified embodiment. More specifically, the ribs extend to distalends that are transversely aligned with the locking feature 347. Theribs 350 may be located further from the proximal end 341 of the sleeveportion 340 than the locking feature 347 in other embodiments.

The spaces between the plurality of ribs 350 form a plurality ofchannels 351 such that each channel 351 is bounded by two of the ribs350 that are adjacent to one another. Thus, each of the channels 351extends from the proximal end 341 to the location at which the ribs 350terminate within the sleeve cavity 346. Each of the plurality ofchannels 351 has a width measured as a minimum linear distance betweenthe two adjacent ribs 350 between which that particular channel 351 isdefined.

An alignment channel 352 of the plurality of channels 351, whichfunctions to properly align the oral care refill head 300 relative tothe handle 200 as described in greater detail below, has a greater widththan a remainder of the plurality of channels 351. In the exemplifiedembodiment, all of the channels 351 have the same width except for thealignment channel 352, which has a greater width. However, the inventionis not to be so limited in all embodiments and the channels 351 couldall have varying widths, with the alignment channel 352 being thechannel 351 with the greatest width. In the exemplified embodiment,there is only one of the alignment channels 352, which ensures that theoral care refill head 300 can only be coupled to the handle 200 in onerelative orientation. If more than one orientation is permissible, itwould be possible for there to be multiple of the alignment channels352. The alignment channel 352 may be referred to herein as a secondengagement feature because it mates or interacts with an engagementfeature of the handle 200 as described in more detail below.

Moreover, the oral care refill head 300 comprises an elongated alignmentrib 360 that extends from the inner surface 342 of the sleeve portion340. Thus, like the ribs 350, the elongated alignment rib 360 extendsinto the sleeve cavity 346. In the exemplified embodiment, the elongatedalignment rib 360 is located between the sleeve lock element 347 (e.g.,locking aperture) and the oral care tool or oral treatment portion 310of the oral care refill head 300. Thus, the elongated alignment rib 360is located closer to the oral treatment portion 310 than each of theplurality of ribs 350 and the sleeve snap element or locking aperture347.

As best seen in FIG. 9, a portion of the elongated alignment rib 360 isaligned with the window aperture 348 formed into the front surface 344of the sleeve portion 340 of the oral care refill head 300. As a result,when the oral care refill head 300 is in the first state such that it isdetached from the handle 200, the elongated alignment rib 360 is visiblethrough the window aperture 348. The reason for this that when the oralcare refill head 300 is in the second state such that it is attached tothe handle 200, the elongated alignment rib 360 presses against the stem270 of the handle 200 to force the first sensor unit 113 to extend intoor near/adjacent to the window aperture 348. This ensures that the firstsensor unit 113 is properly positioned within the window aperture 348during use of the oral care implement 100 so that it can perform itsmonitoring function. This will be described in greater detail belowduring a discussion of the structural relationship between the oral carerefill head 300 and the handle 200 when in the assembled state.

The sleeve portion 340 comprises a distal portion 355 adjacent to theoral treatment portion 310 and a proximal portion 356 adjacent to theproximal edge 341. In the exemplified embodiment, the plurality of ribs350 and the sleeve snap element 347 are located along the proximalportion 356 and the elongated alignment rib 360 and the window aperture348 are located along the distal portion 355.

Referring to FIGS. 5-8B, the handle 200 will be described in greaterdetail. The handle 200 comprises a gripping portion 210 having a distalend 211, an engagement component 240 that may be detachably coupled tothe distal end 211 of the gripping portion 210, and a stem 270 thatprotrudes from the engagement component 240. The engagement component240 and the stem 270 both play a role in the attachment of the oral carerefill head 300 to the handle 200 in the exemplified embodiment, as willbe described in greater detail below. The gripping portion 210 of thehandle 200 is the portion of the oral care implement 100 that isconfigured to be gripped by a user during use of the oral care implement100 in performing its cleaning function. A user-operated actuator 135that comprises the mode selection switch 128 and the power switch 129,are located on the gripping portion 210 of the handle 200 in theexemplified embodiment.

As noted above, the first sensor unit 113 is integrated into the oralcare implement 100. More specifically, in the exemplified embodiment thefirst sensor unit 113 is located on a distal portion 271 of the stem270. The first sensor unit 113 may comprise an imaging device (e.g., acamera) 140, a light source 141, and a receiver 142 in some embodiments,although this is not required in all embodiments. The first sensor unit113 may comprise any components necessary for it to function asrequired. In the exemplified embodiment, the first sensor unit 113 is aplaque detection unit, so it comprises the components needed to detectplaque on the teeth. The imaging device 140 (alone or along with thelight source 141) is configured to take images of the teeth and thereceiver 142 is configured to receive the images and transmit them tothe processor 111 for processing to determine whether or not plaque ispresent on the teeth. As shown in FIG. 5, when the oral care refill head300 it coupled to the handle 200, the first sensor unit 113 is alignedwith and extends into (or immediately adjacent to) the window aperture348 of the oral care refill head 300.

The user-operated actuator 135 is operably coupled to the actuator unit130 and comprises the power switch 129 and the mode selection switch 12.The user-operated actuator 135 is located on the gripping portion 210 ofthe handle 200. Thus, a user gripping the handle 200 can readily andeasily actuate the power switch 129 to power the oral care implement 100on and off and the mode selection switch 128 to alter the operation ofthe oral care implement 100 between the normal mode and the quiet mode.There is also a status indicator 212 on the gripping portion 210 of thehandle 200. The status indicator 212 comprises a connectivity indicator212 a and a power source indicator 212 b. The connectivity indicator 212a may light up when the oral care implement 100 is operably connected tothe electronic device 500 (such as via Bluetooth or the like asdescribed herein above). The power source indicator 212 b may light upin different colors or different levels (i.e., heights), or the like toindicate an amount of charge remaining in the power source 112 (see FIG.2) of the oral care implement 100.

In the exemplified embodiment, the engagement component 240 is aseparate and distinct component relative to the gripping portion 210 andthe stem 270 of the handle 200. The engagement component 240 may besnap-fit connected to the distal end 211 of the gripping portion 210 insome embodiments. In other embodiments, the engagement component 240 maybe coupled to the distal end 211 of the gripping portion 210 in otherways, including using fasteners, adhesive, mechanical engagement, twistand lock, notch and protuberance, or the like. In some embodiments, itmay be desirable for the engagement component 240 to be detachable fromthe gripping portion 210 so that it can be replaced with a differentengagement component 240, with the engagement component 240 having aparticular structure designed to interact with the oral care refill head300. Thus, as mentioned in more detail below, by changing the engagementcomponent 240, one can force a change in the structure of the oral carerefill head 300 that is able to be coupled to the handle 200. Thus,instead of having to replace the entire handle 200 to modify theengagement mechanism, by having a separate engagement component 240 theengagement mechanism (or a portion thereof) that mates with the oralcare refill head 300 can be changed without having to replace the entirehandle 200.

In the exemplified embodiment, the engagement component 240 comprises aplate portion 241 having a top surface 242 and a bottom surface 243opposite the top surface 242. The plate portion 241 further comprises anaperture 244 extending from the top surface 242 to the bottom surface243. Thus, in the exemplified embodiment the engagement component 240has a ring-like annular shape like that of a doughnut. The top andbottom surfaces 242, 243 are flat and planar and parallel to one anotherin the exemplified embodiment. However, this is not required in allembodiments and the top and/or bottom surfaces 242, 243 could have somecontour in other embodiments. When the oral care implement 100 isassembled, the bottom surface 243 of the plate portion 241 faces and isin contact with the distal end 211 of the gripping portion 210 and thetop surface 242 of the plate portion 241 faces and is in contact withthe proximal end 341 of the oral care refill head 300.

The engagement component 240 also comprises a first engagement feature245 that is configured to mate with the second engagement feature (i.e.,the alignment channel 352) of the oral care refill head 300 when theoral care refill head 300 is attached to the handle 200. Morespecifically, the first engagement feature 245 of the engagementcomponent 240 is configured to mate with the second engagement feature352 of the oral care refill head 300 to at least one of: (1) positionthe oral care refill head 300 in an operational alignment; and (2) lockthe oral care refill head 300 to the handle 200. Because the circuitryfor the oral care implement 100 is located in the handle 200, in someembodiments the oral care refill head 300 must be positioned in aparticular orientation relative to the handle 200 for the circuitry tooperate properly because part of the operation is dependent upon aposition sensor and determining the location of the oral care refillhead 300 relative to the oral cavity. Furthermore, a particularorientation between the oral care refill head 300 and the handle 200 maybe needed for the imaging sensor (i.e., optical sensor or camera 140) tofunction properly. Thus, by “operational alignment” it is meant that theoral care refill head 300 is aligned with the handle 200 in such amanner that the control circuit 110 is able to operate properly inaccordance with the disclosure set forth herein. Thus, the first andsecond engagement features 245, 352 may properly align the oral carerefill head 300 with the handle 200 and/or the first and secondengagement features 245, 352 may lock the oral care refill head 300 tothe handle 200, or both. In the exemplified embodiment, as discussedfurther herein, the first and second engagement features 245, 252 mateor otherwise interact to align the oral care refill head 300 with thehandle 200.

In the exemplified embodiment, the first engagement feature 245 of theengagement component 240 is an alignment protrusion 246 that extendsfrom the top surface 242 of the plate portion 241 of the engagementcomponent 240. The plate portion 240 has an inner surface 247 thatfaces/defines the aperture 244 and an opposite outer surface 248. In theexemplified embodiment, the alignment protrusion 246 is spaced radiallyinward of the outer surface 248 and is adjacent to the aperture 244.Thus, the alignment protrusion 246 is located closer to the innersurface 247 than to the outer surface 248 of the plate portion 240. Morespecifically, in the exemplified embodiment at least a portion of thealignment protrusion 246 is flush with the inner surface 247 of theplate portion 241. This ensures that there is sufficient space on thetop surface 242 of the plate portion 240 between the alignmentprotrusion 246 and the outer surface 248 for engagement with theproximal end 341 of the sleeve portion 240 of the oral care refill head300.

As best seen in FIG. 8B, the alignment protrusion 246 extends from thetop surface 242 of the plate portion 240 to a distal end 249. Thealignment protrusion 246 comprises a first sidewall 250 extending fromthe top surface 242 of the plate portion 240 to the distal end 249 and asecond sidewall 251 extending from the top surface 242 of the plateportion 240 to the distal end 249. In the exemplified embodiment, eachof the first and second sidewalls 250, 251 comprise smooth outersurfaces that are free of any notches or protrusions. Furthermore, inthe exemplified embodiment the alignment protrusion 246 tapers along atleast a portion of its length as it extends from the top surface 242 ofthe plate portion 241 to the distal end 249. Stated another way, a widthof the alignment protrusion 246 measured between the first and secondsidewalls 249, 250 decreases along at least a portion of the length ofthe alignment protrusion 246 as the distance from the top surface 242 ofthe plate portion 241 increases. This tapering of the alignmentprotrusion 246 allows the alignment protrusion 246 to more easily enterinto the alignment channel 352 of the oral care refill head 350 duringthe coupling of the oral care refill head 300 to the handle 200.

When the handle 200 is assembled, the stem 270 of the handle 200 extendsthrough the aperture 244 of the plate portion 241 of the engagementcomponent 240 so that the top surface 242 of the plate portion 241 ofthe engagement component 240 forms an annular shoulder thatcircumscribes the stem 270. The stem 270 extends from the top surface242 of the plate portion 240 to a distal end 272. The stem 270 comprisesthe distal portion 271 mentioned previously and a proximal portion 273,with the proximal portion 273 being adjacent to the engagement component240. The stem 270 extends along a stem axis B-B.

The stem 270 of the handle 200 comprises a stem snap element 274 that isconfigured to interact with the sleeve snap element 347 to securelycouple (or lock) the oral care refill head 300 to the handle 200. In theexemplified embodiment, the stem snap element 274 is a protrusion thatextends from the stem 270. More specifically, in the exemplifiedembodiment the stem snap element 274 is a protrusion having an ovalshape that is elongated in a direction transverse to the stem axis B-B.Thus, the stem snap element 274 and the sleeve snap element 347 have asimilar shape to enable them to matingly engage one another to lock theoral care refill head 300 to the handle 200. Specifically, when the oralcare refill head 300 is coupled to the handle 200, the stem snap element274 snaps into the aperture of the sleeve snap element 347 to securelycouple the oral care refill head 300 to the handle 200 by a snap-fitinterlock. The stem snap element 274 nests within the aperture of thesleeve snap element 347 when the oral care refill head 300 is coupled tothe handle 200. The stem snap element 274 is located along the proximalportion 273 of the stem 270 in the exemplified embodiment. Furthermore,the stem snap element 274 is circumferentially aligned with thealignment protrusion 246 of the first engagement feature 245 of theengagement component 240 in the exemplified embodiment as best shown inFIG. 8B.

The stem 270 of the handle 200 further comprises an elongated alignmentnotch 275 located along the distal portion 272 of the stem 270. Theelongated alignment notch 275 is elongated in a direction that isparallel to the stem axis B-B. The elongated alignment notch 275 isconfigured to receive and/or mate with the elongated alignment rib 360of the oral care refill head 300 when the oral care refill head 300 iscoupled to the handle 200. As mentioned above, this interaction pressesthe distal portion 271 of the stem 270 forward within the sleeve cavity346 towards the front surface 344 of the sleeve portion 340 so that thefirst sensor unit 113 extends into and/or is positioned adjacent to thewindow aperture 348 (or the transparent window 370 covering the windowaperture 348) of the oral care refill head 300. As will be describedfurther below, the elongated alignment rib 360 of the oral care refillhead 300 nests within the elongated alignment notch 275 on the stem 270when the oral care refill head 300 is coupled to the handle 200.

In the exemplified embodiment, the elongated alignment notch 275 iscircumferentially aligned with the stem snap element 274 and with thealignment protrusion 246. Thus, a reference plane on which the stem axisB-B lies intersects each of the elongated alignment notch 275, the stemsnap element 274, and the alignment protrusion 246. Moreover, theelongated alignment notch 275 is located on an opposite surface of thestem 270 relative to the first sensor unit 113. This is needed so thatthe interaction between the elongated rib 360 of the oral care refillhead 300 and the alignment notch 275 presses the first sensor unit 113forward so that it is positioned adjacent to the window aperture 348 andtransparent window 370 of the oral care refill head 300.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 11A, the interaction between the oral carerefill head 300 and the handle 200 will be further described when theoral care refill head 300 is coupled to the handle 200. As noted above,the stem snap element 274 (which is a protuberance in the exemplifiedembodiment) protrudes into and through the sleeve snap element 347(which is an aperture in the exemplified embodiment). As can be seen,the stem snap element 274 is chamfered on its upper and lower surfacesto render it easier to snap the stem snap element 274 into and out ofthe sleeve snap element 347. Although in the exemplified embodiment thestem snap element 274 comprises a locking protuberance and the sleevesnap element 347 comprises a locking aperture 347, the invention is notto be so limited in all embodiments. Thus, in some alternativeembodiments the stem snap element 274 may comprise an aperture and thesleeve snap element 347 may comprise a protuberance. Furthermore, othermating features may be used as the stem and sleeve snap elements 274,347 while still achieving the function of locking the oral care refillhead 300 to the handle 200 for use of the oral care implement 100.

Furthermore, as best seen in these views, the first engagement feature245 (specifically, the alignment protrusion 246) extends from the topsurface 242 of the plate portion 241 at an oblique angle in a directiontowards the stem 270 and towards the aperture 244. Thus, the alignmentprotrusion 246 comprises a first portion 253 that comprises the distalend 249 and a second portion 254 that is located closer to the topsurface 242 of the plate portion 241. The second portion 254 of thealignment protrusion 246 is spaced apart from the stem 270 and the firstportion 253 of the alignment protrusion 246 is in contact with the stem270.

In addition to the mechanical features that facilitate the coupling ofthe oral care refill head 300 to the handle 200, FIGS. 11 and 11A alsodepict some of the electronic components. Thus, for example, the powersource 112 is shown in the gripping portion 210 of the handle 200. Themotion inducing unit 119 is illustrated as a motor and eccentriccombination that is positioned within the stem 270 of the handle 200.Many of the other components of the control circuit 110, while shown inFIGS. 11 and 11A, will not be described at this time but will instead ofdescribed later on in this document.

Furthermore, referring to FIGS. 11A and 12A, the oral care refill head300 comprises an annular recess 375 located just above the proximal end341 of the sleeve portion 340. The plurality of ribs 350 may not extendinto the annular recess 375, as best shown in FIG. 12A. Specifically,the plurality of ribs 350 may extend from a proximal end 358 to a distalend 359, with the proximal end 358 being spaced apart from the proximaledge 341 of the sleeve portion 340. Thus, the plurality of ribs 350 mayextend from just above the annular recess 375 to their terminal ends.The annular recess 375 may therefore be located in the space between theproximal end 358 of the ribs 350 and the proximal edge 341 of the sleeveportion 340 of the oral care refill head 300.

In some embodiments, the annular recess 375 is configured to receive agasket 376 therein. The gasket 376 may be formed of rubber or otherresilient materials as commonly used for gaskets or O-rings or the like.When assembled, the gasket 376 is positioned within the annular recess375 such that the ribs 350 extend upwardly towards the oral care tool310 from the gasket 376. Thus, in the assembled oral care implement (seeFIG. 12C), the gasket 376 is sandwiched between the proximal ends 358 ofthe plurality of ribs 350 and the top surface 242 of the plate portion241 of the engagement component 240. The gasket 376 assists inpreventing water and toothpaste slurry from entering into the spacesbetween the oral care refill head 300 and the stem 270 of the handle 200during use, which can be important to prevent the components of thefirst sensor unit 113 from becoming obfuscated or blocked. Specifically,if a toothpaste slurry is able to enter into the space between the oralcare refill head 300 and the stem 270, it may be able to flow up to thedistal end of the stem 270 where the components of the first sensor unit113 (e.g., the optical sensor 140, the light source 141, and/or thereceiver 142) are located, thereby blocking the visual pathway from thefirst sensor unit 113 to the oral surfaces.

Referring to FIGS. 12A-12C sequentially, the process of coupling theoral care refill head 300 to the handle 200 is illustrated. FIG. 12Aillustrate the oral care refill head 300 completely separated from thehandle 200, but aligned for purposes of coupling those two componentstogether. As shown in FIG. 12B, to couple the oral care refill head 300to the handle 200, the oral care refill head 300 is moved towards thehandle 200 so that the stem 270 of the handle 200 enters into the sleevecavity 346 of the oral care refill head 300. The oral care refill head300 continues to be moved axially relative to the handle 200 until thestem snap element 274 snaps into the sleeve snap element 346. However,before this occurs, the alignment protrusion 245 of the engagementcomponent 240 will bump against the plurality of ribs 350 of the oralcare refill head 300 until the alignment protrusion 245 is aligned withthe alignment channel 352. Thus, if upon first placing the stem 270 intothe sleeve cavity 346 the oral care refill head 300 and the handle 200are not properly aligned, the user may need to rotate the oral carerefill head 300 relative to the handle 200 until the alignmentprotrusion 245 is aligned with the alignment channel 352. Once thisalignment is achieved, the oral care refill head 300 will be able to bepressed onto the handle 200 until a click is heard as the stem snapelement 274 snap-interlocks with the sleeve snap element 346.

Furthermore, as seen in FIGS. 12B and 12C, as the oral care refill head300 is pressed onto the handle 200, the elongated rib 360 of the oralcare refill head 300 slides into and within the elongated alignmentnotch 275 of the stem 270. The elongated alignment rib 360 pressesagainst the stem 270 and forces the first sensor unit 113 to bepositioned adjacent to the window aperture 348 or transparent window 370of the oral care refill head 300.

As mentioned previously, because the first engagement feature 245 (i.e.,the alignment protuberance 246 in the exemplified embodiment) is formedas part of an engagement component 240 that is separate from andnon-integral with the gripping portion 210 or the stem 270 of the handle200 (i.e., the engagement component 240 is a distinct component from thegripping portion 210 and the stem 270), the first engagement feature 245can be exchanged for another as desired, perhaps by the manufacturer orperhaps by the end-user. The first engagement feature 245 isspecifically designed to mate with the oral care refill head 300. Thus,an oral care refill head 300 having different structures may not permitcoupling with the handle 200, particularly due to the configuration ofthe first engagement feature 245. Thus, swapping out the engagementcomponent 240 for another will enable coupling of the handle 200 todifferent oral care refill heads 300.

FIG. 13 once again shows the mating interaction between the firstengagement feature 245 (i.e., the alignment protuberance 246) and thesecond engagement feature (i.e., the alignment channel 352). As can beseen in this view, the alignment protrusion 246 cannot fit within any ofthe plurality of channels 351 except for the alignment channel 352.Thus, the alignment protrusion 246 is prohibited from entering into andnesting within any of the plurality of channels 351 other than thealignment channel 352 due to their respective widths as described above.The alignment protuberance 246 nests within the alignment channel 352and is sandwiched between the stem 270 of the handle 200 and the innersurface 342 of the oral care refill head 300.

As seen in this view, the alignment protuberance 246 has a rounded orslightly arcuate outer surface 255 so that it confirms to the shape ofthe inner surface 342 of the oral care refill head 300. Furthermore, atleast a portion of an inner surface 256 of the alignment protuberance246 is spaced apart from the stem 270. Specifically, in this embodimentthe alignment protuberance 246 has two arms protruding from opposingsides of a main body. The two arms terminate in distal ends that contactthe stem 270, but the inner surface 256 of the alignment protuberance246 is spaced from the stem 270 in the region between the two arms.

FIG. 14 shows the mating between the elongated alignment rib 360 of theoral care refill head 300 and the elongated alignment notch 275 on thestem 270 of the handle 200. As can be seen, the elongated alignment rib360 nests within the elongated alignment notch 275. Furthermore, theelongated alignment rib 360 is in direct contact with the floor of theelongated alignment notch 275, which causes the elongated alignment rib360 to press the stem 270 towards the front surface 344 of the sleeveportion 340 of the oral care refill head 300 so that the first sensorunit 113 is exposed via the window aperture 348 as has been describedherein.

Referring to FIG. 15, the oral care implement 100 is illustrated in afront view with the oral care refill head 300 coupled to the handle 200.As noted previously, the first sensor unit 113 positioned on the stem270 of the handle 200 is exposed through the window aperture 348 of theoral care refill head 300. As a result, the first sensor unit 113 canmonitor and/or take images or gather data related to one or morephysiological conditions of the oral cavity within which the head body312 of the oral care refill head 300 is positioned.

As mentioned previously, there is a user-operated actuator 135 locatedon the gripping portion 210 of the handle 200. The user-operatedactuator 135 is in operable coupling with the actuator unit 130 shown inFIG. 2 and described above. The user-operated actuator 135 is configuredto control one or more functions of the oral care implement 100. Theuser-operated actuator 135 comprises an actuator plate 136 positionedwithin the actuator aperture 222 of the handle housing 220. In theexemplified embodiment, the user-operated actuator 135 comprises themode selection switch (or button) 128 and the power switch (or button)129 that are located on the gripping portion 210 of the handle 200 sothat they can be easily actuated by a user. Specifically, a user candepress the mode selection switch 128 to change the mode (from normal toquiet mode as described above) and the user can depress the power switch129 to power the oral care implement 100 on and off. The mode selectionswitch 128 and the power switch 129 are press button switches in theexemplified embodiment, but they could be slide switches, toggleswitches, limit switches, throw switches, mechanical switches,electronic switches, conductive touch switches, or the like in variousdifferent embodiments.

Furthermore, the oral care implement 100 comprises an illumination ring150 located on the handle 200, and more specifically on the grippingportion 210 of the handle 200. Even more specifically, the illuminationring 150 is located on the handle 200 so that it surrounds theuser-operated actuator 135. Thus, in the exemplified embodiment theillumination ring 150 is an oval-shaped ring that completely surroundsthe user-operated actuator 135. The illumination ring 150 may be formedof a light transmissive material so that light emitted from inside ofthe handle 200 as described above can be transmitted through theillumination ring 150 to provide an indication to a user of the amountof time that has elapsed during an oral care session. The connectivityindicator 212 a and the power source indicator 212 b described above arealso shown in FIG. 15.

In the exemplified embodiment, the illumination ring 150 has acontinuous exposed ring surface that surrounds the user-operatedactuator 135. Thus, in the exemplified embodiment the illumination ring150 forms a continuous, unbroken ring-like shape. However, the inventionis not to be so limited in all embodiments and the illumination ring 150may comprise ring segments that are spaced apart but collectively definea ring-like shape. Regardless, the illumination ring 150 is exposedalong an outer surface 215 of the gripping portion 210 of the handle200.

Referring to FIGS. 16A and 16B, the oral care implement 100 is depictedin a front perspective exploded view and a rear perspective explodedview so that the different components that form the oral care implement100 can be seen. Some of these components will be shown separately anddescribed in more detail below. The oral care implement 100 comprisesthe handle 200 and the oral care refill head 300. The gripping portion210, the engagement component 240, and the stem 270 of the handle 200are shown in these views. The gripping portion 210 of the handle 200comprises a handle housing 220 that defines an interior cavity 221within which several components of the control circuit 110 that arehoused in the oral care implement 100 are located. Thus, the handlehousing 220 is at least partially hollow so that it comprises theinterior cavity 221. The handle housing 220 has an opening 224 at itsdistal end and an opening 229 at its proximal end. An end cap 230 isprovided to close the opening 229 at the proximal end of the handlehousing 220.

The handle housing 220 also comprises an actuator aperture 222 formedinto a front surface of the handle housing 220 and providing apassageway from the exterior environment and into the interior cavity221. When the oral care implement 100 is assembled as shown in FIG. 15,the illumination ring 150 protrudes into the actuator aperture 222 andthe user-operated actuator 135 closes the remaining portion of theactuator aperture 222 that is not filled by the illumination ring 150.The handle housing 220 also comprises a status aperture 223 that isspaced from the actuator aperture 222. In fact, the status aperture 223comprises a first status aperture 223 a and a second status aperture 223b that are aligned with the connectivity and power source indicators 212a, 212 b mentioned above.

The handle 200 further comprises a collar 225 that is coupled to thegripping portion 210. When the handle 200 is assembled, the collar 225is positioned between the engagement component 240 and the grippingportion 221 of the handle 200. Thus, the engagement portion 240 iscoupled directly to the collar 225, which in turn is coupled to a distalend of the gripping portion 210. The collar 225 may comprise or beformed from a light transmissive material so that the collar 225 forms alight ring that circumscribes a longitudinal axis of the handle 200, aswill be described in greater detail below.

The oral care implement 100 further comprises a circuit board 160 onwhich one or more of the components of the control circuit 110 arelocated. Specifically, in the exemplified embodiment the mode selectionunit 118 and the power unit 131 of the actuator unit 130 are mounted onthe circuit board 160. Furthermore, in this embodiment the timeindicator unit 116 is also mounted to the circuit board 160. Morespecifically, in the exemplified embodiment the time indicator unit 116comprises a plurality of light sources 170 (only one of which is labeledin FIG. 16A to avoid clutter). The plurality of light sources 170 of thetime indicator unit 116 are arranged in a ring or a loop that surroundsthe mode selection unit 118 and the power unit 131 of the actuator unit130. The plurality of light sources 170 are configured to light up orilluminate in groupings to indicate the elapse of time during an oralcare session, as will be discussed in greater detail below. In oneembodiment, the plurality of light sources 170 are arranged in fourgroups so that each of the light sources 170 in a single groupilluminate simultaneously during an oral care session. Again, thespecific illumination pattern for the light sources 170 of the timeindicator unit 116 will be described below in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention. The timer unit 115 (seeFIG. 2) that tracks time during the oral care session is operablycoupled to the light sources 170 of the time indicator unit 116 asdescribed above (either directly or indirectly by way of the processor111).

The sensor indicator unit 114 is also provided in the form of aplurality of light sources 180 (only one of which is labeled to avoidclutter) in the exemplified embodiment. When the handle 200 is fullyassembled, the collar 225 is adjacent to and/or covers the light source180 of the sensor indicator unit 114. Thus, the light generated by thelight sources 180 of the sensor indicator unit 114 emits through thecollar 225. For this reason, the collar 225 is preferably formed of alight transmissive material, although the degree of light transmissivitymay vary so long as the light emitted by the light sources 180 can beseen through the collar 225.

The gripping portion 210 of the handle 200 further comprises anillumination component 285 through which the light generated by thelight sources 170 of the time indicator unit 116 is emitted forvisualization by a user. The illumination component 285 comprises aplate body 286 and the illumination ring 150. The plate body 286comprises a front surface 287 and a rear surface 288. When the grippingportion 210 of the handle 200 is assembled, the rear surface 288 of theplate body 286 faces the circuit board 160 and the front surface 287 ofthe plate body 286 faces the inner surface of the handle housing 220.The illumination ring 150 protrudes from the front surface 287 of theplate body 286. Furthermore, the plate body 286 has an actuator aperture289 extending from the front surface 287 to the rear surface 288. Theillumination ring 150 protrudes from the front surface 287 of the platebody 286 and surrounds the actuator aperture 289 of the plate body 286.

The illumination component 285 also comprises a pair of statusprotuberances including a connectivity status protuberance 290 a and apower source status protuberance 290 b. The illumination component 285in its entirety may be light transmissive in some embodiments. In otherembodiments, at least the illumination ring 150, the connectivity statusprotuberance 290 a, and the power source status protuberance 290 b areformed from a light transmissive material so that light emitted frombeneath the illumination component 285 (i.e., from light sources on thecircuit board 160) shines through those portions of the illuminationcomponent 285. However, it should be appreciated that the illuminationring 150, the connectivity status protuberance 290 a, and the powersource status protuberance 290 b are the only portions of theillumination component 285 which are exposed along an outer surface ofthe gripping portion 210 of the handle 200. The remainder of theillumination component 285 is hidden behind the handle housing 220.Thus, if the handle housing 220 is opaque and the illumination component285 is light transmissive, light emitted from the various light sourcesdescribed herein will only be visible along the exposed portions of thehandle that are formed from the illumination component 285.

Referring to FIGS. 16A, 16B, and 17, the gripping portion 210 of thehandle 200 further comprises a light divider component 260. The lightdivider component 260 comprises a body 261 having a plurality of arcuateapertures 262 a-d arranged in a ring. Each of the arcuate apertures 262a-d is separated from an adjacent one of the arcuate apertures 262 a-dby a divider wall 264 a-d. The ring arrangement of the plurality ofarcuate apertures 262 a-d is aligned with the illumination ring 150 whenthe gripping portion 210 of the handle 200 is assembled as describedherein. The light divider component 260 also comprises a pair ofconnection elements 263 protruding from the body 261 to facilitatecoupling of the light divider component 260 to the circuit board 160.The light divider component 260 may be formed of an opaque material insome embodiments.

FIG. 18 provides a front view of the circuit board 160 and the pluralityof light sources 170 of the time indicator unit 116. This view betterillustrates the plurality of light sources 170 of the time indicatorunit 116 surrounding the mode selection unit 118 and the power unit 131.Furthermore, as can be seen in FIG. 18, the plurality of light sources170 are arranged in a first quadrant grouping 171 a, a second quadrantgrouping 171 b, a third quadrant grouping 171 c, and a fourth quadrantgrouping 171 d. As mentioned previously, the light sources 170 areilluminated in groups. Specifically, the light sources 170 of the firstquadrant grouping 171 a are illuminated simultaneously, the lightsources 170 of the second quadrant grouping 171 b are illuminatedsimultaneously, the light sources 170 of the third quadrant grouping 171c are illuminated simultaneously, and the light sources 171 d of thefourth quadrant grouping 171 d are illuminated simultaneously. Thus, theoral care session can be broken down into quarters such that after thepassage of each quarter of the total desired time for the oral caresession, another one of the quadrant groupings 171 a-d is illuminated toindicate the same to the user.

The control circuit 110 further comprises a connectivity status lightsource 168 mounted to the circuit board 160 and power source statuslight source 169 mounted to the circuit board 160. Each of the lightsources mentioned herein may be light emitting diodes or any otherdevice configured to generate light in the manner described herein. Theconnectivity status light source 168 is aligned with the first statusaperture 223 a of the handle housing 220 and with the connectivitystatus protuberance 290 a of the illumination component 285 so thatlight emitted by the connectivity status light source 168 can passthrough the connectivity status protuberance 290 a to form theconnectivity indicator 212 a on the front surface of the grippingportion 210 of the handle 200 (see FIG. 15). Similarly, the power sourcestatus light source 169 is aligned with the second status aperture 223 bin the handle housing 220 and with the power source status protuberance290 b of the illumination component 285 so that light emitted by thepower source status light source 169 can pass through the power sourcestatus protuberance 290 b to form the power source indicator 212 b onthe front surface of the gripping portion 210 of the handle 200 (seeFIG. 15).

As shown in FIG. 19, the light divider component 260 is coupled to thecircuit board 160 on which the light sources 170 of the time indicatorunit 116 are mounted. Specifically, the pair of connection elements 263wrap around the periphery of the circuit board 160 to couple the lightdivider component 260 to the circuit board 160. In some embodiments, thelight divider component 260 may snap-fit to the circuit board 160. Whenthe light divider component 260 is coupled to the circuit board 160, thelight sources 170 of the first quadrant grouping 171 a are aligned witha first one of the plurality of arcuate apertures 262 a in the lightdivider component 260, the light sources 170 of the second quadrantgrouping 171 b are aligned with a second one of the plurality of arcuateapertures 262 b, the light sources 170 of the third quadrant grouping171 c are aligned with a third one of the plurality of arcuate apertures262 c, and the light sources 171 d of the fourth quadrant grouping 171 dare aligned with a fourth one of the plurality of arcuate apertures 262d.

Referring again to FIG. 16A along with FIG. 20, the assembly of the oralcare implement 100 will be described. First, the light divider component260 is coupled to the circuit board 160 as described above and shown inFIG. 18. Next, the illumination component 285 is coupled to the lightdivider component 260 and circuit board 160 assembly. The components ofthe user-operated actuator 135 may be attached to one another within theactuator aperture 289 of the illumination component 285 before theillumination component 285 is attached to the light divider component260 and circuit board 160 assembly. Once all of these components areattached together, that assembly is inserted through the opening 229 inthe proximal end of the handle housing 220 and into the interior cavity221 of the handle housing 220 until the stem 270 protrudes from thedistal end of the handle housing 220. Of course, in some embodimentsrather than inserting the previously noted assembly through the opening229 in the proximal end of the handle housing 220, the handle housing220 may comprise two separate parts that are simply coupled togetheraround the assembly. Thus, variations in the assembly process may existin accordance with the invention described herein.

Once the assembly noted above is inserted into the interior cavity 221of the handle housing 220, the illumination component 285 may besnap-fit to the handle housing 220. In this regard, the illuminationring 150 extends into the actuator aperture 222 of the handle housing220, the connectivity status protuberance 290 a extends into the firststatus aperture 223 a of the handle housing 220, and the power sourcestatus protuberance 290 b extends into the second status aperture 223 bof the handle housing 220. Furthermore, as can be seen the illuminationring 150, the power source protuberance 290 b, and the connectivitystatus protuberance 290 a are flush with the outer surface of the handlehousing 220 such that the illumination ring 150, the power sourceprotuberance 290 b, and the connectivity status protuberance 290 form apart of an exposed surface of the gripping portion 210 of the handle200.

Referring to FIGS. 21A-21D and 22A-22 d, the operation of the pluralityof light sources 170 of the time indicator unit 116 will be describedduring an oral care session. First, when the oral care implement 100 isfirst powered on, all of the light sources 170 illuminate in a secondcolor (e.g., blue) simultaneously so that the illumination ring 150illuminates in the second color. Once a start brush command is sent tothe oral care implement (which may be done automatically simply byplacing the oral care tool into the user's mouth, or may require a userto activate a button or the like) or after a set period of time, theplurality of light sources 170 all deactivate and turn off. During theoral care session, the control circuit 110 (or the processor 111thereof) is configured to activate the light sources 170 of the timeindicator unit 116 in a manner that informs the user, during the oralcare session, of the time that has passed during the performance of theoral care session. As will be appreciated from the description below,the control circuit 110 is configured to activate the light sources 170of the time indicator unit 116 in a manner that sequentially illuminatessegments of the illumination ring 150.

Referring to FIGS. 21A and 22A, after expiration of a first time periodduring the oral care session, the control circuit 110 is configured toactivate the one or more light sources 170 in a manner that illuminatesa first quadrant segment 151 of the illumination ring 150. This meansthat after the first time period has expired, the control circuit 110activates all of the light sources 170 in the first quadrant grouping171 a, which in turn causes the first quadrant segment 151 of theillumination ring 150 to illuminate as the light from the light sources170 in the first quadrant grouping 171 a pass through the first quadrantsegment 151 of the illumination ring 150. The first quadrant segment 151of the illumination ring 150 is equivalent to the 12 O'clock to 3O'clock region of the illumination ring 150.

As the time continues to elapse during the oral care session, the firstquadrant segment 151 of the illumination ring 150 remains illuminated.Next, referring to FIGS. 21B and 22B, after expiration of a second timeperiod during the oral care session, the control circuit 110 isconfigured to activate the one or more light sources 170 in a mannerthat illuminates the first quadrant segment 151 of the illumination ring150 and a second quadrant segment 152 of the illumination ring 150. Thismeans that after the second time period has expired, the control circuit110 activates all of the light sources 170 in the first quadrantgrouping 171 a and all of the light sources 170 in the second quadrantgrouping 171 b, which in turn causes the first and second quadrantsegments 151, 152 of the illumination ring 150 to illuminate as thelight from the light sources 170 in the first and second quadrantgroupings 171 a, 171 b pass through the first and second quadrantsegments 151, 152 of the illumination ring 150. The second quadrantsegment 152 of the illumination ring 150 is equivalent to the 3 O'clockto the 6 O'clock region of the illumination ring, and thus after elapseof the second time period the 12 O'clock to 6 O'clock region of theillumination ring 150 is illuminated as shown in FIG. 21B.

As the time continues to elapse during the oral care session, the firstand second quadrant segments 151, 152 of the illumination ring 150remain illuminated. Next, referring to FIGS. 21C and 22C, afterexpiration of a third time period during the oral care session, thecontrol circuit 110 is configured to activate the one or more lightsources 170 in a manner that illuminates the first and second quadrantsegments 151, 152 of the illumination ring 150 and also a third quadrantsegment 153 of the illumination ring 150. This means that after thethird time period has expired, the control circuit 110 activates all ofthe light sources 170 in the first quadrant grouping 171 a, all of thelight sources 170 in the second quadrant grouping 171 b, and all of thelight sources 170 in the third quadrant grouping 171 c, which in turncauses the first, second, and third quadrant segments 151, 152, 153 ofthe illumination ring 150 to illuminate as the light from the lightsources 170 in the first, second, and third quadrant groupings 171 a,171 b, 171 c pass through the first, second, and third quadrant segments151, 152, 153 of the illumination ring 150. The third quadrant segment153 of the illumination ring 150 is equivalent to the 6 O'clock to the 9O'clock region of the illumination ring, and thus after elapse of thethird time period the 12 O'clock to 9 O'clock region of the illuminationring 150 is illuminated as shown in FIG. 21C.

As the time continues to elapse during the oral care session, the first,second, and third quadrant segments 151, 152, 153 of the illuminationring 150 remain illuminated. Next, referring to FIGS. 21D and 22D, afterexpiration of a fourth time period during the oral care session, thecontrol circuit 110 is configured to activate the one or more lightsources 170 in a manner that illuminates the first, second, and thirdquadrant segments 151, 152, 153 of the illumination ring 150 and also afourth quadrant segment 154 of the illumination ring 150. This meansthat after the fourth time period has expired, the control circuit 110activates all of the light sources 170 in the first quadrant grouping171 a, all of the light sources 170 in the second quadrant grouping 171b, all of the light sources 170 in the third quadrant grouping 171 c,and all of the light sources in the fourth quadrant grouping 171 d,which in turn causes the first, second, third, and fourth quadrantsegments 151, 152, 153, 154 of the illumination ring 150 to illuminateas the light from the light sources 170 in the first, second, third, andfourth quadrant groupings 171 a, 171 b, 171 c, 171 d pass through thefirst, second, third, and fourth quadrant segments 151, 152, 153, 154 ofthe illumination ring 150. The fourth quadrant segment 154 of theillumination ring 150 is equivalent to the 9 O'clock to the 10 O'clockregion of the illumination ring, and thus after elapse of the fourthtime period the 12 O'clock to 12 O'clock region of the illumination ring150 is illuminated as shown in FIG. 21D.

In some embodiments, the fourth time period may correspond to arecommended brushing time. The recommended brushing time may be twominutes, although it could be more or less than two minutes. In suchembodiments, each of the first, second, third, and fourth time periodsis thirty seconds. In some embodiments, the recommended brushing timecould be a user-selectable parameter such that the user can determinehow long the brushing time should be, and may set the timer for thatlength of time. In the exemplified embodiment, there are four timeperiods, and thus one-fourth of the light sources 170 are activated atthe expiration of each of the time periods to illuminate one-fourth ofthe illumination ring 150. However, there could be more or less thanfour time periods and the brushing time and illumination of the lightsources may be divided up accordingly.

Furthermore, during the oral care session each of light sources 170 mayilluminate in a first color (e.g., white). Thus, during the oral caresession each of the light sources 170 may illuminate in the same colorwhen activated. In other embodiments, the light sources 170 in eachgrouping may illuminate in different colors relative to each other orrelative to the other groupings. Thus, variations in the colors beingemitted from the light source 170 may fall within the scope of theinvention described herein.

The control circuit 110 is also configured to activate the connectivitystatus light source 168 and the power source status light source 169 toilluminate the connectivity indicator 212 a on the gripping portion 210of the handle 200 and the power source indicator 212 b on the grippingportion 210 of the handle 200. These features are shown in FIGS.21A-21D, but called out only in FIG. 21A. The control circuit 110 willactivate the connectivity status light source 168 and/or the powersource status light source 169 upon a status condition being satisfied.Thus, for example, the control circuit 110 may activate the connectivitystatus light source 168 upon the oral care implement 100 being placedinto operable communication with the electronic device 500. In someembodiments, the connectivity status light source 168 may blink when itis being connected to an electronic device 500 and then subsequentlyturn off once it is connected. In other embodiments, the connectivitystatus light source 168 may blink when it is being connected to theelectronic device 500 and then remain on continuously thereafter. Thecontrol circuit 110 may activate the power source status light source169 to indicate a level of power remaining in the power source 112.Different colors of light may be used to indicate different statuses ofthe power source 112 (red may indicate low power or less than three usesremaining), green may depict full or near full power or greater thanfive uses remaining, yellow may indicate intermediate power or somewherebetween three to five uses remaining, or the like).

Furthermore, it should be appreciated that operation of the oral careimplement 100 including the time indicator unit 116 may be paused duringan oral care session. Such pause may occur by a user activating a pausebutton associated with the control circuit 110 (either on the oral careimplement 100 or on the electronic device 500). Alternatively, suchpause may occur automatically when the control circuit 110 detects thatthe oral care implement 100 has been removed from the user's oralcavity. When paused, all of the light sources 170 associated with thetime indicator unit 116 turn off (inactivate). However, once theoperation resumes either by the user activating a resume buttonassociated with the control circuit 110 or the control circuit 110detecting that the oral care implement 100 has been placed back into theuser's mouth, the light sources 170 power back on in the manner thatthey were powered on just prior to the operation being paused. Thus, ifthe first grouping 171 a of light sources 170 were activated prior tothe pause, the first grouping 171 a of the light sources 170 would bereactivated when the operation resumes.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, after the expiration of the fourthtime period, which corresponds to a recommended brushing time, all ofthe light sources 170 of the first through fourth groupings 171 a-d areactivated and powered on. A user may continue to clean his/her oralcavity, and during such time the light sources 170 may remainilluminated. In some embodiments, the light sources 170 may remainilluminated for an additional time period, and after expiration of theadditional time period all of the light sources 170 of the timeindicator unit 116 may deactivate and power off. In some embodiments,the additional time period may be one minute. In other embodiments, theadditional time period may be two minutes, or three minutes, or fourminutes, etc.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 16A, and 23, the oral care implement 100 will befurther described. As mentioned previously, the control circuit 110comprises a first sensor unit 113 and a sensor indicator unit 114 thatare integrated into or otherwise coupled to the oral care implement 100.As described previously, the first sensor unit 113 may comprise theoptical sensor 140, the light source 141, and the receiver 142 as notedpreviously. However, the first sensor unit 113 is not limited tocomprising those components and may comprise those components inaddition to other components, may comprise some or all of thosecomponents, or may comprise none of those components and only othercomponents. The first sensor unit 113 comprises all of the hardwareand/or software required for it to function as described herein.

In the exemplified embodiment, the first sensor unit 113 is configuredto detect: (1) the presence of an oral surface during performance of anoral care session using the oral care implement 100; and (2) thepresence (or lack thereof) of an oral malady on the oral surface duringperformance of the oral care session. The first sensor unit 113 may alsodetect whether the oral care tool 310 is located in the oral cavity oroutside of the oral cavity. The oral malady may be any of the oral careparameters described above, such as a physiological oral condition. Theoral malady may be the existence of plaque on the teeth or other oralsurfaces in one exemplified embodiment. However, the invention is not tobe so limited and the oral malady may take on any forms and may be anyundesirable health characteristic that can affect the oral cavity and bedetected with one or more sensors (in operable communication with orcomprising a processor that can process data acquired by the sensors).As noted above, the presence of the oral surface and the existence orlack thereof of the oral malady may be detected using one or more of theoptical sensor 140, the light source 141, and the receiver 142 in oneparticular embodiment of the present invention.

The first sensor unit 113 is operably coupled to the sensor indicatorunit 114, either via a direct coupling or through an intermediatecoupling of both of the first sensor unit 113 and the sensor indicatorunit 114 to the processor 111. As noted above, in the exemplifiedembodiment the sensor indicator unit 114 comprises a plurality of lightsources 180 that are located in the handle 200 adjacent to a distal end209 of the gripping portion 210 of the handle 200. Furthermore, each ofthe light sources 180 is pointed upwards towards the distal end 209 ofthe gripping portion 210 (i.e., towards the oral care tool 310 of theoral care refill head 300). Thus, the light sources 180 of the sensorindicator unit 114 are configured to emit light in an upward directly.

The collar 225 is coupled to the distal end 209 of the gripping portion210 of the handle 200. In the exemplified embodiment, the collar 225 ispositioned axially just above the light sources 180 of the sensorindicator unit 114. Thus, the collar 225 surrounds the light sources180, but it is aligned with the light sources 180. Stated another way,there is no plane transverse to the longitudinal axis of the oral careimplement 100 which would intersect both the collar 225 and the lightsources 180 of the sensor indicator unit 114. However, in otherembodiments the light sources 180 of the sensor indicator unit 114 couldbe positioned so as to be aligned with the collar 225. As noted above,the collar 225 is preferably formed of a light transmissive material.Thus, light emitted from the plurality of light sources 180 of thesensor indicator unit 114 is visible through the collar 225. The handlehousing 220 of the gripping portion 210 of the handle 200 may not belight transmissive. Thus, the light emitted from the light sources 180is visible only through the collar 225 as it cannot be seen through theopaque handle housing 220.

Referring to FIGS. 23 and 24, in the exemplified embodiment the lightsources 180 of the sensor indicator unit 114 are arranged along a ringor loop that surrounds the longitudinal axis C-C of the gripping portion210 of the handle 200 of the oral care implement 100. Thus, the sensorindicator unit 114, which comprises the plurality of light sources 180and the collar 225 that is light transmissive in the exemplifiedembodiment, is in the form of a light ring 299 provided on the handle200. The light ring 299 circumscribes the longitudinal axis C-C of thegripping portion 210 of the handle 100 as noted above. As shown in FIG.24, when one or more of the light sources 280 of the sensor indicatorunit 114 are activated (powered on), the light ring 299 is illuminatedto provide a visual cue to a user during an oral care session.

Operation of the first sensor unit 113 and the sensor indicator unit 114will now be described in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. Another more specific description of the operation will beprovided below with reference to FIG. 25.

As noted previously, the control circuit 110 comprises, in operablecoupling, the first sensor unit 113 and the sensor indicator unit 114.The first sensor unit 113 may be coupled to or integrated into the oralcare implement 100. The sensor indicator unit 114 may also be coupled toor integrated into the oral care implement. The first sensor unit 113 isconfigured to detect the presence of the oral surface (i.e., teeth,gums, etc.) during an oral care session to determine whether the oralcare tool 310 of the oral care implement 100 is located within a user'soral cavity or not. The first sensor unit 113 is also configured todetect the presence of an oral malady (which is plaque in theexemplified embodiment) on the oral surface during the oral caresession. The control circuit 110, generally due to the coupling of thefirst sensor unit 113 and the sensor indicator unit 114 to the processor111, is configured to generate different user perceptible stimuli withthe sensor indicator unit 114 during the oral care session depending onwhether the first sensor unit 113 is detecting the presence of the oralsurface and/or is detecting the presence of an oral malady. Furthermore,the time elapsed during the oral care session also plays a role in themanner in which the control circuit causes the sensor indicator unit 114to generate the various user perceptible stimuli.

As has been discussed in detail above, in the exemplified embodiment thesensor indicator unit 114 comprises the plurality of light sources 180,and thus the user perceptible stimuli are visual (i.e., the emission oflight in one or more colors). As also discussed above, the userperceptible stimuli could take on other forms in other embodiments, suchas being audible stimuli and/or tactile/haptic stimuli or any other userperceptible stimuli. Thus, in alternative embodiments the sensorindicator unit 114 may comprise one or more of a speaker, a vibrationgenerator, a motor with an eccentric, a playback device with memorystoring various audible outputs, or the like.

In the exemplified embodiment, the control circuit 110 is configured togenerate at least four different user perceptible stimuli underdifferent circumstances in accordance with what is detected by the firstsensor unit 113. Thus, the control circuit 110 is configured to generatea first user perceptible stimulus with the sensor indicator unit 114during the oral care session when the first sensor unit 113 is detectingthe presence of the oral surface and the first sensor unit 113 isdetecting that the oral surface is free of the oral malady. As mentionedabove, the detection of the presence of the oral surface by the firstsensor unit 113 is indicative of the oral care tool 310 of the oral careimplement 100 being located in the oral cavity of a user. Thus, when thefirst sensor unit 113 determines that the oral care tool 310 is in theoral cavity (by detecting the presence of the oral surface) anddetermines that the oral surface is free of the oral malady (e.g., thatthe teeth are free of plaque), the sensor indicator unit 114 willgenerate a first user perceptible stimulus. In one embodiment, the firstuser perceptible stimulus may be the generation of a first color oflight with the light sources 180 of the sensor indicator unit 114. Inone embodiment, the first color of light may be white, although theinvention is not to be so limited and the first color of light may beany color so long as it is distinguishable from any color used as theother user perceptible stimuli described herein.

In the exemplified embodiment, the control circuit 110 may be configuredto generate a second user perceptible stimulus with the sensor indicatorunit 114 when the first sensor unit 113 is detecting the presence of theoral surface and the first sensor unit 113 is detecting the presence ofthe oral malady on the oral surface. Thus, when the first sensor unit113 determines that the oral care tool 310 is located in the user's oralcavity and that the oral malady is present (e.g., that there is plaqueon the teeth), the control circuit 110 will cause the sensor indicatorunit 114 to generate the second user perceptible stimulus. In theexemplified embodiment, the second user perceptible stimulus may be thegeneration of a second color of light with the light sources 180 of thesensor indicator unit 114. In one embodiment, the second color of lightmay be blue, although the invention is not to be so limited and thesecond color of light may be any color so long as it is distinguishablefrom the first color of light used as the first user perceptiblestimulus. Thus, the first and second user perceptible stimuli (e.g., thefirst and second colors of light) are different from one another in someembodiments.

Moreover, in the exemplified embodiment the control circuit 110 may beconfigured to generate a third user perceptible stimulus with the sensorindicator unit 114 when, during the oral care session, the first sensorunit 113 is not detecting the presence of the oral surface. This canhappen in several ways. First, the user may be holding the oral caretool 310 in the oral cavity in such an orientation the prevents thefirst sensor unit 113 from being able to detect the presence of the oralsurface. For example, the first sensor unit 113 may detect the user'spalate or uvula or some other surface in the oral cavity that is not theoral surface on which the oral malady may exist. Moreover, the firstsensor unit 113 may detect some other feature outside of the mouth ifthe first sensor unit 113 is facing a direction that is out of themouth. Second, the first sensor unit 113 may be covered or otherwiseblocked or obstructed by fluids such as toothpaste and saliva (i.e.,toothpaste slurry) in the mouth, thereby preventing the first sensorunit 113 from being able to detect anything. The first sensor unit 113may require a clear visual path to the oral surfaces on which it isattempting to detect the oral malady. Therefore, if the first sensorunit 113 is covered by fluids or any the like, such a clear visual pathmay not exist. Thus, in the exemplified embodiment when the first sensorunit 113 cannot detect the oral surface, the oral circuit 110 may beconfigured to generate a third user perceptible stimulus with the sensorindicator unit 114.

In the exemplified embodiment, the third user perceptible stimulus maybe the generation of a third color of light with the light sources 180of the sensor indicator unit 114. In one embodiment, the third color oflight may be red, although the invention is not to be so limited and thethird color of light may be any color so long as it is distinguishablefrom the first color of light used as the first user perceptiblestimulus and the second color of light used as the second userperceptible stimulus. Thus, the first, second, and third userperceptible stimuli (e.g., the first, second, and third colors of light)are different from one another in some embodiments. This allows a userto easily understand what is being indicated to her (e.g., user seesfirst color along light ring 299 indicates to the user that there is noplaque on her teeth, user sees second color along light ring 299indicates to the user that there is plaque on her teeth, user sees athird color along the light ring 299 indicates to the user that thefirst sensor unit 113 is unable to perform its detecting function).

Moreover, in some embodiments the control circuit may cause a differentuser perceptible stimulus to be generated by the sensor indicator unit114 depending on the cause of the first sensor unit 113 being unable todetect the presence of the oral surface. Thus, for example, if the firstsensor unit 113 cannot detect the oral surface due to the first sensorunit 113 being covered (by a toothpaste slurry or the like), the controlcircuit 110 may be configured to generate the third user perceptiblestimulus with the sensor indicator unit 114. However, if the firstsensor unit 113 cannot detect the oral surface due to the orientation atwhich the oral care tool 310 is being held, the control circuit 110 maybe configured to generate a fourth user perceptible stimulus with thesensor indicator unit 114. In some embodiments, the third userperceptible stimulus may be the emission of the third color of light ina solid pattern and the fourth user perceptible stimulus may be theemission of the third color of light in a flashing or blinking pattern.At any rate, each of the user perceptible stimulus should be differentfrom one another, whether they are distinguishable due to the color oflight generated, the pattern of light generated, or some other sensingfunction such as sound, vibration, or the like.

This can be valuable to a user of the oral care implement 100 to providethem the information that they need to remedy the cause of the firstsensor unit 113 being unable to perform its detection function.Specifically, if the sensor indicator unit 114 generates the third userperceptible stimulus, the user will understand that the oral care tool310 needs to be washed or rinsed to remove toothpaste slurry or othersubstances/objects that are blocking and/or covering the first sensorunit 113. Alternatively, if the sensor indicator unit 114 generates thefourth user perceptible stimulus, the indicator will understand that theoral care tool 310 needs to be reoriented within the oral cavity so thatthe first sensor unit 113 can have an unimpeded visual pathway to theoral surface so that it can perform its detecting function.

Furthermore, as noted above, in some embodiments the control circuit 110may use data acquired from the timer unit 115 to determine which of theuser perceptible stimulus should be generated by the sensor indicatorunit 114 at a given time. In addition, the control circuit 110 may alsouse data acquired from the second sensor unit 117, which is configuredto determine an orientation and/or position of the oral care implement100 within the user's oral cavity during the oral care session, indetermining which of the user perceptible stimulus should be generatedby the sensor indicator unit 114. In that regard, the control circuit110 may be configured to determine a zone of the user's oral cavity inwhich the oral care tool 310 is working during the oral care session.The determination of the zone of the user's oral cavity in which theoral care tool 310 is working may be determined based on informationacquired from the first sensor unit 113 and the second sensor unit 117.

The oral cavity may be divided into any number of zones as may bedesired. Furthermore, as discussed above, there is a desired amount oftime during which a user should perform the oral care session. Theamount of time divided by the number of zones provides a generalindication of the amount of time that a user should keep the oral caretool 310 in a particular zone during the oral care session. In someembodiments, the amount of time that the oral care tool 310 should workin the same zone of the user's oral cavity may be approximately fiveseconds, in another embodiment it may be approximately ten seconds, inanother embodiment it may be approximately twenty seconds. Of course,the amount of time is dependent on how many zones the oral cavity isdivided into. The user perceptible stimuli generated by the sensorindicator unit 114 may function to indicate to a user that it is time tomove on to a new zone.

Thus, in some embodiments, upon the control circuit 110 determining thatthe oral care tool 310 has been working in the same zone of the user'soral cavity for a predetermined period of time (i.e., a threshold periodof time), the control circuit 110 may cause the sensor indicator unit114 to switch from generating the second user perceptible stimulus togenerating the first user perceptible stimulus. As noted above, thecontrol circuit 110 is configured to generate a second user perceptiblestimulus with the sensor indicator unit 114 when the presence of theoral malady is detected and the first user perceptible stimulus when thepresence of the oral malady is not detected. However, there is anoverride function in that even if the oral malady is still detected bythe first sensor unit 113, the control circuit 110 will cause the sensorindicator unit 114 to generate the first user perceptible stimulus ifthe oral care tool 310 has been working in the same zone for a period oftime that exceeds a threshold period of time. The goal of this is toensure that the user does not spend too much time in one zone, which cancause irritation to the oral surfaces and may also result in a userspending not enough time in other zones. Thus, the switch from thesecond user perceptible stimulus to the first user perceptible stimuluswill prompt the user to move the oral care tool 310 to a different zoneof the user's oral cavity during the oral care session. Again, thecontrol circuit 110 may use data acquired by the first sensor unit 113,the timer unit 115, and the second sensor unit 117 to operate accordingto the above description.

Referring to FIG. 25, operation of the control circuit 110 in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention will be described. Theoperation described below relates to the user perceptible stimuligenerated by the sensor indicator unit 114 during an oral care session.As noted above, there is a desired total time for an oral care session(e.g., two minutes) and with that, a desired amount of time that theuser should spend cleaning each zone of the oral cavity. The amount oftime spent in each zone is dependent on the number of zones that theoral cavity is divided into, and the invention is not to be limited to aparticular number of zones in all embodiments. However, in oneembodiment there may be between five and twenty zones, or between fiveand ten zones, or between ten and twenty zones, or the like. To operatein accordance with FIG. 25 and the related disclosure, the first sensorunit 113 detects the presence of the oral surface and the presence of anoral malady on the oral surface during an oral care session, the timerunit 115 tracks time elapsed during performance of the oral care sessionand time elapsed with the oral care tool 310 in a single zone withoutmoving to another zone, the second sensor unit 117 determinesorientation of the oral care implement during the oral care session, andthe sensor indicator unit 114 generates one or more user perceptiblestimuli. The sensor indicator unit 114 may be referred to herein simplyas an indicator unit in some embodiments because its operation may bedictated by components of the control circuit 110 other than the firstsensor unit 113, including without limitation the timer unit 115, asdescribed in more detail below.

Before discussing the FIG. 25 flow chart, some terms will be explained,When the control circuit 110 determines that a user has begun towork/clean in a new zone, the control circuit 110 starts a zone timer ofthe timer unit 115. Thus, the timer unit 115 may comprise a sessiontimer that keeps track of total time elapsed during the oral caresession and a zone timer that keeps track of time elapsed while the oralcare tool 310 has been working in a single zone. Thus, at the start of anew cleaning session the session timer and the zone timer will bothstart keeping track of the time. The session timer will keep track ofthe entire time that the oral care session takes place. The zone timerwill restart each time the oral care tool 310 is determined to beworking in a new zone.

As noted above, the first user perceptible stimulus is generated whenthe first sensor unit 113 is not detecting plaque on the oral surface.The first user perceptible stimulus may also be used as a prompt orsignal to the user to move the oral care tool 310 to the next zone. Thismay occur either based on there being no plaque detected, based on timeelapsed with the oral care tool 310 in the same zone, or somecombination of no plaque detected and time elapsed. As noted above, thesecond user perceptible stimulus is generated when the first sensor unit113 is detecting plaque on the oral surface. The second user perceptiblestimulus may also be used as a prompt or signal to the user to remain inthe current zone and not move to the next zone. This may occur eitherbased on there being plaque detected, based on time elapsed with theoral care tool 310 remaining in the same zone, or some combination ofplaque detected and time elapsed, as described in more detail below.

In some embodiments, there may be two different time periods that arerelevant while the oral care tool 310 remains in a single zone. Thefirst time period is the minimum amount of time that the oral care tool310 should remain in the same zone. Thus, as will be described in moredetail below, the sensor indicator unit 114 will generate userperceptible stimulus that prompts the user to not leave the zone inwhich it is working during the first time period, regardless of whetherthe first sensor unit 113 is detecting plaque. This is to ensure thatthe user works in the same zone for a predetermined period of timenecessary for a proper cleaning of the oral surfaces in that zone.

The second time period is the maximum amount of time that the oral caretool 310 should remain in the same zone. In some embodiments, the secondtime period may be ten seconds, or fifteen seconds, or twenty seconds,or the like. Thus, at the expiration of the second time period, thesensor indicator unit 114 will generate the first user perceptiblestimulus. As noted above, the first user perceptible stimulus isgenerally generated when the first sensor unit 113 is not detecting anyplaque. However, the first user perceptible stimulus may also begenerated even if the first sensor unit 113 is detecting plaque, if thezone timer determines that the oral care tool 310 has been working inthe same zone for a time that exceeds the second time period.

The time between the first and second time periods is when plaque (orother oral malady) detection with the first sensor unit 113 is morepertinent to operation of the sensor indicator unit 114. Specifically,in the time period between the first and second time periods, if thefirst sensor unit 113 is not detecting the oral malady, the controlcircuit 110 causes the sensor indicator unit 114 to generate the firstuser perceptible stimulus to prompt the user to move to the next zone.In the time period between the first and second time periods, if thefirst sensor unit 113 is detecting the oral malady, the control circuit110 causes the sensor indicator unit 114 to generate the second userperceptible stimulus to prompt the user to remain in and continueworking in the same zone.

Now, referring specifically to FIG. 25, the flow chart of operation inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. First, at step 600, the zone timer of the timer unit 115 isstarted. This may occur automatically upon the control circuit 110(using the first sensor unit 113 and/or the second sensor unit 117)determining that the oral care tool 310 is positioned within the user'soral cavity. Once the control circuit 110 determines that an oral caresession has started and the zone timer is started, the control circuit110 will determine if the first time period has passed (step 601).

If the first time period has not yet passed, the control circuit 110will, at step 602, determine if the first sensor unit 113 is detectingthe presence of the oral surface. As noted above, the first sensor unit113 can either be blocked by fluids in the mouth and/or unable to seethe oral surface due to the orientation or position of the oral caretool 310. If it is determined at step 602 that the first sensor unit 113is not detecting the oral care surface, the control circuit 110 willgenerate the third user perceptible stimulus with the sensor indicatorunit 114 (step 603) to provide a signal to the user that the oral caretool 310 should be rinsed to clear fluids from the first sensor unit 113and/or the orientation/position of the oral care tool 310 should bechanged. If the first time period has not yet passed and the firstsensor unit 113 is detecting the presence of the oral care surface atstep 602, then, in one embodiment, the control circuit 110 will generatethe second user perceptible stimulus with the sensor indicator unit 114(step 604). This will signal to the user either: (1) there is plaque onthe oral surface in the current zone, so you should not move to the nextzone; and/or (2) you have not brushed in the current zone for longenough, so you should not move to the next zone.

Although in the exemplified embodiment, the oral care circuit 110generates the second user perceptible stimulus at step 604, theinvention is not to be so limited. In other embodiments, if the firsttime period has not passed and the first sensor unit is detecting thepresence of the oral surface, the control circuit 110 may either: (1)not generate any user perceptible stimulus with the sensor indicatorunit 114; or (2) generate the second user perceptible stimulus with thesensor indicator unit 114. For example, if during the first time periodin a single zone the first sensor unit 113 is detecting plaque, thecontrol circuit 110 may generate the second user perceptible stimuluswith the sensor indicator unit 114. However, if during the first timeperiod in the single zone the first sensor unit 113 is not detectingplaque, the control circuit 110 may not generate any user perceptiblestimulus. This is because no plaque is detected, but also the controlcircuit 110 does not want to signal to the user that it is permissibleto move to the next zone. Thus, variations of this are possible, butgenerally the control circuit 110 will not generate the first userperceptible stimulus with the sensor indicator unit 114 prior to elapseof the first time period in a single zone regardless of whether thefirst sensor unit 113 is detecting plaque or not.

Returning back to step 601, as noted above the control circuit 110determines whether the first time period has elapsed. If the answer isyes that the first time period has elapsed, the control circuit 110 willdetermine whether the second time period has elapsed (step 605). Asnoted above, if the second time period has elapsed, it will bedetermined that the user has been cleaning the same zone for the maximumamount of time, and therefore it is time to move to the next zone. Thus,in some embodiments if the second time period has passed, the controlunit 110 will generate the first user perceptible stimulus with thesensor indicator unit 114 regardless of whether the first sensor unit113 is detecting plaque and regardless of whether first sensor unit 113is detecting the presence of the oral surface.

However, in the exemplified embodiment there is a slight modification tothis. In the exemplified embodiment, if at step 605 it is determinedthat the second time period has passed, the control circuit 110 willdetermine at step 606 if the first sensor unit 113 is detecting thepresence of the oral surface. If the first sensor unit 113 is notdetecting the presence of the oral surface, the control circuit 110 willgenerate the third user perceptible stimulus with the sensor indicatorunit 114 (step 603). If the first sensor unit 113 is detecting thepresence of the oral surface, the control circuit 110 will generate thefirst user perceptible stimulus with the sensor indicator unit (step607). As mentioned above, step 606 may be omitted in some embodimentsand if the answer at step 605 is yes, the control circuit 110 willcontinue to step 607 regardless of any other data being acquired by thefirst sensor unit 113. As noted above, generation of the first userperceptible stimulus with the sensor indicator unit 114 will signal orprompt the user to move the oral care tool 310 to a different zone ofthe user's oral cavity for working.

As noted above, if the second time period has passed, the controlcircuit 110 does not take into consideration whether the first sensorunit 113 is detecting plaque or not in determining which userperceptible stimulus to generate with the sensor indicator unit 114.This is because once the second time period has passed the controlcircuit 110 signals to the user that it is time to move to the nextzone, regardless of whether or not plaque is being detected. The firstuser perceptible stimulus being generated by the sensor indicator unit114 provides the necessary signal/prompt to the user to move to the nextzone.

Referring back to step 605, the control circuit 110 determines whetherthe second time period has passed. If the answer to this is no, thecontrol circuit 110 determines that the user has been working with theoral care tool 310 in the same zone for a period of time that is greaterthan the first time period (minimum amount of time for brushing in aparticular zone) and less than the second time period (maximum amount oftime for brushing in a particular zone). Thus, as mentioned above, it iswithin this intermediate time period that the detection of the oralmalady (e.g., plaque) with the first sensor unit 113 becomes relevant tothe user perceptible stimuli generated by the sensor indicator unit 114.

Once the control circuit 110 determines that the first time period haspassed at step 601 but the second time period has not passed at stop605, the control circuit determines whether the first sensor unit 113 isdetecting the presence of the oral care surface at step 608. If thefirst sensor unit 113 is not detecting the presence of the oral caresurface, the control circuit 110 generates the third user perceptiblestimulus with the sensor indicator unit 114 (step 609). If the firstsensor unit 113 is detecting the presence of the oral care surface, thecontrol circuit 110 determines whether the first sensor unit 113 isdetecting the presence of the oral malady (e.g., plaque) on the oralsurface (step 610). If the first sensor unit 113 is detecting thepresence of the oral malady at step 610, the control circuit 110 willgenerate the second user perceptible stimulus with the sensor indicatorunit 114 (step 611). This will signal to the user to continue working inthe same zone because the maximum time period has not yet elapsed andthere is still the existence of the oral malady (e.g., plaque) on theoral surfaces. If the first sensor unit 113 is not detecting thepresence of the oral malady at step 610 (during a time at which the oralcare tool 310 has been working in the same zone for an amount of timethat is greater than the first time period and less than the second timeperiod), the control circuit 110 will generate the first userperceptible stimulus with the sensor indicator unit 114 (step 612). Thiswill signal to the user that the minimum time period (the first timeperiod) has passed and there is no evidence of the oral malady on theoral surface, so the user can move the oral care tool 310 to the nextzone of the user's oral cavity for working.

As noted, the above operation set forth with regard to FIG. 25 alloccurs while the oral care tool 310 is positioned within a single (thesame) zone. Once the control circuit 110 determines that the oral caretool 310 has been moved out of the zone and into a different zone, thezone timer will reset and the control operations will start again atstep 600. The flow of operation indicated in FIG. 25 occurs so long asthe control circuit determines (via the first sensor unit 113, thesecond sensor unit 117, or some combination thereof) that the oral caretool 310 remains in the same zone of the oral cavity.

To state succinctly, in one embodiment upon the zone timer starting, thesensor indicator unit 114 generates the second user perceptible stimulus(e.g., blue light). The sensor indicator unit 114 continues to generatethe second user perceptible stimulus (e.g., blue light) for the firsttime period (e.g., five seconds). After the first time period (e.g.,five seconds_, the sensor indicator unit 114 continues to generate thesecond user perceptible stimulus (e.g., blue light) only if the oralmalady (e.g., plaque) is detected by the first sensor unit 113. Afterthe first time period (e.g., seconds) if the oral malady (e.g., plaque)is not detected by the first sensor unit 113, the sensor indicator unit114 changes from generating the second user perceptible stimulus (e.g.,blue light) to generating the first user perceptible stimulus (e.g.,white light) to signal the user to move to a new zone. After a secondperiod of time (e.g., ten seconds) in the same zone, the sensorindicator unit 114 generates the first user perceptible stimulus (e.g.,white light) to signal the user to move to a new zone regardless ofwhether the oral malady (e.g., plaque) is detected by the first sensorunit 113. All the while, if the first sensor unit 113 is blocked at anytime, the sensor indicator unit 114 generates the third user perceptiblestimulus (e.g., red light). As soon as the control circuit 110 detectsor determines that the oral care tool 310 has moved to a new zone, thecontrol circuit 110 generates the second user perceptible stimulus(e.g., blue light) with the sensor indicator unit 114 to start theprocess over.

In some embodiments in addition to a three-dimensional model of themouth map being shown on the display of the electronic device 500 (seeFIG. 3), a three-dimensional model of the oral care implement 100 withthe light ring (color coded to show white, blue, or red light as setforth above) is also displayed on the display of the electronic device500 through the toothbrush app 123. The three-dimensional model of theoral care implement 100 may just be a part of the oral care implement(for example) and it may be shown in the three-dimensional model of themouth map within the zone that is currently being brushed. In someembodiments, the entire three-dimensional model of the oral careimplement or portions there of are color-coded to match the color of thelight ring 299 to provide appropriate indications, signals, and promptsto the user as set forth herein.

In some embodiments, upon the sensor indicator unit 114 having beenactivated to generate the first user perceptible stimulus, the controlcircuit 110 may restart the zone timer and then immediately subsequentlydeactivate generation of the first user perceptible stimulus (and startthe operation back at step 600 of FIG. 24). This is because generationof the first user perceptible stimulus is a signal or prompt for theuser to move to a different zone, so the assumption is that this actionhas taken place and so the zone timer should be restarted. Specifically,the first user perceptible stimulus is only generated when the minimumtime period has passed and the oral malady is not detected so a usershould move to another zone for working/cleaning. In other embodiments,the zone timer may only be restarted when the control circuit 110, viadata acquired by the first sensor unit and/or the second sensor unit117, determines that the oral care tool 310 has been moved to adifferent zone.

Referring to FIG. 26, some additional operations of the oral care system10, and particularly the control circuit 110 thereof, will be described.As mentioned above, one state that is continuously monitored by thecontrol circuit 110 is whether the oral care tool 310 is positionedwithin the user's oral cavity or not (step 620). If the oral careimplement 100 is powered on and it is determined that the oral care tool310 is not positioned in the user's oral cavity, several results willoccur. First, the motion inducing unit 119 will operate to impart afirst type of motion to the oral care tool (step 621). The first type ofmotion may be a low power state such that the motion inducing unit 119is operating at less than its maximum speed. Second, the sensorindicator unit 114 is deactivated (622). This means that regardless ofany detections made by the first sensor unit 113, when the oral caretool 310 is positioned outside of the user's oral cavity the sensorindicator unit 114 will not generate any output or user perceptiblestimulus. As mentioned above, in some embodiments the first sensor unit113 may comprise the optical sensor 140, the light source 141, and thereceiver 142. The third operation that occurs when the oral care tool310 is determined to be outside of the user's oral cavity is that thelight source 141 of the first sensor unit 113 is deactivated (or, ifalready deactivated, it will be maintained in that deactivated state)(step 623).

Alternatively, if the oral care tool 310 is determined to be locatedwithin the user's oral cavity, first the motion inducing unit 119 willoperate to impart a second type of motion to the oral care tool 310(step 624). The second type of motion may be different than the firsttype of motion noted above so that the motion inducing unit 119 impartsdifferent types of motion depending on whether the oral care tool 310 islocated within the user's oral cavity or not. The second type of motionmay be a full power state such that the motion inducing unit 119 isoperating at its maximum speed. Of course, in other embodiments thefirst and second types of motion may differ based on the pattern ofmotion, having various on/off times in a pulsing pattern, or the like.Second, when the oral care tool 310 is determined to be positionedwithin the user's oral cavity, the light source 141 of the first sensorunit 113 is activated or maintained in the activated state if it waspreviously activated.

As noted previously, in some embodiments there may be a preconfiguredsession time for a particular oral care session. At the completion ofthe session time, the timer indicator unit 116 is completely illuminated(i.e., the illumination ring 150 is completely lit up). Furthermore, insome embodiments at the completion of the session time the motioninducing unit 119 may pulsate with several on/off states to indicate tothe user the completion of the session time. For example, in oneembodiment after completion of the session time the motion inducing unit119 will operate with an off period of 210 ms, an on period of 490 ms,an off period of 210 ms, an on period of 490 ms, and another off periodof 210 ms (of course, the specific time periods associated with theon/off periods of the motor are merely exemplary). After the final offperiod, the motion inducing unit 119 may proceed back to its normaloperation (i.e., imparting the second type of motion to the oral caretool 310 if it is in the oral cavity and imparting the first type ofmotion to the oral care tool 310 if it is not in the oral cavity). Afteran extended time period, the motion inducing unit 119 may be powered offor otherwise stop. In some embodiments, the session time period may betwo minutes and the extended time period may be three minutes, or fourminutes, or the like.

As used throughout, ranges are used as shorthand for describing each andevery value that is within the range. Any value within the range can beselected as the terminus of the range. In addition, all references citedherein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. In theevent of a conflict in a definition in the present disclosure and thatof a cited reference, the present disclosure controls.

While the invention has been described with respect to specific examplesincluding presently preferred modes of carrying out the invention, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that there are numerous variationsand permutations of the above described systems and techniques. It is tobe understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural andfunctional modifications may be made without departing from the scope ofthe present invention. Thus, the spirit and scope of the inventionshould be construed broadly as set forth in the appended claims.

1.-87. (canceled)
 88. A powered oral care implement comprising: a headcomprising an oral care tool; a handle comprising a gripping portion; auser-operated actuator on the handle for controlling one or morefunctions of the oral care implement; an illumination ring on the handlethat surrounds the user operated actuator; a control circuit comprising,in operable cooperation; a power source; an actuator unit in operablecooperation with the user-operated actuator; a timer unit configured totrack time during performance of the oral care session; a time indicatorunit comprising: one or more light sources positioned to illuminate theillumination ring; and the control circuit configured to activate theone or more light sources in a manner that informs the user, during theoral care session, of the time that has passed during performance of theoral care session.
 89. The powered oral care implement according toclaim 88 wherein the control circuit is further configured to activatethe one or more light sources in a manner that sequentially illuminatessegments of the illumination ring.
 90. The powered oral care implementaccording to claim 89 wherein the control circuit is further configuredto: activate the one or more light sources in a manner that illuminatesa first quadrant segment of the illumination ring upon a first timeperiod expiring; activate the one or more light sources in a manner thatilluminates the first quadrant segment and a second quadrant segment ofthe illumination ring upon a second time period expiring; activate theone or more light sources in a manner that illuminates the firstquadrant segment, the second quadrant segment, and a third quadrantsegment of the illumination ring upon a third time period expiring; andactivate the one or more light sources in a manner that illuminates thefirst quadrant segment, the second quadrant segment, the third quadrantsegment, and a fourth quadrant segment of the illumination ring upon afourth time period expiring.
 91. The powered oral care implementaccording to claim 90 wherein the fourth time period corresponds to arecommended brushing time.
 92. The powered oral care implement accordingto claim 88 wherein the gripping portion of the handle furthercomprises: a handle housing having an actuator aperture; and anillumination component comprising the illumination ring and a platebody, the illumination ring protruding from the plate body, theillumination component mounted to the handle housing so that theillumination ring extends into the actuator aperture, the illuminationcomponent formed of a light transmissive material.
 93. The powered oralcare implement according to claim 92 wherein the illumination componentsnap-fits to the handle housing.
 94. The powered oral care implementaccording to claim 92 further comprising: the handle housing comprisinga status aperture spaced from the actuator aperture; the illuminationcomponent further comprising a status protuberance protruding from theplate body and into the status aperture; the control circuit furthercomprising a status light source aligned with the status protuberance,the control circuit configured to activate the status light source upona status condition being satisfied.
 95. The powered oral care implementaccording to claim 92 wherein the gripping portion of the handle furthercomprises: a light divider component comprising a body having aplurality of arcuate apertures arranged in a ring, the light dividercomponent mounted in a handle housing of the gripping portion so thatthe ring formed by the plurality of arcuate apertures is aligned withthe illumination ring.
 96. The powered oral care implement according toclaim 95 wherein the light divider component is formed of an opaquematerial.
 97. The powered oral care implement according to claim 95wherein the light divider component is coupled to a circuit board onwhich the one or more light sources of the time indicator unit aremounted.
 98. The powered oral care implement according to claim 97wherein the light divider component snap-fits to the circuit board. 99.The powered oral care implement according to claim 95 wherein the one ormore lights sources of the time indicator unit comprises a plurality ofgroupings of light sources, each of the plurality of groupings of lightsources aligned with a corresponding one of the plurality of arcuateapertures.
 100. The powered oral care implement according to claim 95further comprising the user operated actuator comprising an actuatorplate positioned within the actuator aperture.
 101. A powered oral careimplement comprising: a head comprising an oral care tool; a handlecomprising a gripping portion; a user-operated actuator on the handlefor controlling one or more functions of the oral care implement; anillumination ring on the gripping portion of the handle, theillumination ring having a continuous exposed ring surface thatsurrounds the user operated actuator; a control circuit comprising, inoperable cooperation, a power source, an actuator unit in operablecooperation with the user-operated actuator, and one or more lightsources; and a light divider component comprising a body having aplurality of arcuate apertures arranged in a ring and separated from oneanother by divider walls, the light divider component mounted in thehandle housing of the gripping portion so that the ring formed by theplurality of arcuate apertures is aligned with the illumination ring.102. The powered oral care implement according to claim 101 wherein thelight divider component is formed of an opaque material.
 103. Thepowered oral care implement according to claim 101 wherein the lightdivider component is coupled to a circuit board on which at least oneelectrical element of the actuator unit and the one or more lightsources are mounted.
 104. The powered oral care implement according toclaim 103 wherein the light divider component snap-fits to the circuitboard.
 105. The powered oral care implement according to claim 101wherein the one or more lights sources comprises a plurality ofgroupings of light sources, each of the plurality of groupings of lightsources aligned with a corresponding one of the plurality of arcuateapertures so that segments of the light ring can be individuallyilluminated.